BS  2615  .R63  1916 
Robertson,  A.  T.,  1863-1934 
The  divinity  of  Christ  in 
the  gospel  of  John 


The  Divinity  of  Christ  in  the 
Gospel  of  John 


Books  by 

PROF,  A,  T,  ROBERTSON 

The  Divinity  of  Christ  in  the  Gospel  of 

John. 
Studies  in  the  New  Testament. 
Critical   Notes  to  Broadus's   Harmony  of 

the  Gospels. 
Life  and  Letters  of  John  A.  Broadus. 
Teaching   of  Jesus    Concerning    God  the 

Father. 

Keywords  in  the  Teaching  of  Jesus. 

Syllabus  for  New  Testament  Study. 

Students'  Chronological  New  Testament. 

Epochs  in  the  Life  of  Jesus. 

Epochs  in  the  Life  of  Paul. 

John  the  Loyal.     Studies  in  the  Ministry 

of  the  Baptist. 
A    Short    Grammar    of    the    Greek    New 

Testament. 
A  Commentary  on  the  Gospel  According 

to  Matthew. 

The  Glory  of  the  Ministry. 

A  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testament 

in  the  Light  of  Historical  Research. 
Practical  and  Social  Aspects  of  Christianity. 


The  Divinity  of  Christ 

In  the  Gospel  of  John 


DEC  29  ] 


By 

A.  T.  ROBERTSON,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Interpretation  in 
the  Southern  Baptist   Theological  Semi- 
nary, Louisville,  Ky. 


**  The  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us." 


^f^ 


New    York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming     H.    Revell    Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  191 6,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


To 

Mrs,  Mary  Seaton  Cary 

like  the  Marys  of  this  Gospel 
Helpful  Friend  of  Many  Preachers 


Preface 

THE  Gospel  of  John  has  fascinated  me 
for  over  thirty  years.  The  invitation  to 
speak  on  it  for  a  week  to  the  Sunday- 
school  teachers  of  Atlanta  in  October  induced  me 
to  write  out  the  five  addresses  in  the  hope  that 
other  Sunday-school  teachers  and  ministers  might 
at  least  be  stimulated  to  a  fresh  study  of  this  most 
wonderful  book  in  all  the  world.  There  are  all 
sorts  of  books  about  the  Gospel  of  John  and  a 
brief  bibliography  is  appended  at  the  end  of  this 
volume.  I  do  not  undertake  to  write  a  full  com- 
mentary on  John's  Gospel,  but  rather  to  develop 
the  thesis  of  the  book,  as  I  understand  it,  with 
brevity  and  clearness  so  that  the  average  man  may 
understand  the  book  better  as  a  whole  and  in  detail 
as  he  is  led  to  read  it  with  new  interest.  John 
can  help  us  to  see  Jesus  and  thus  to  see  God.  It  is 
just  this  vision  of  God  in  Christ  that  makes  life 
worth  while  and  rich.  This  is  a  good  time  for  us 
all  to  say  to  Jesus  in  our  hearts, "  My  Lord  and  my 
God." 

A.  T.  R. 

Louisville^  Ky, 


Contents 

I. 

Preliminary  Points     .        .        •        • 

II 

II. 

The  Manifestation  of  the  Messiah    . 
{Chapters  1-4..) 

34 

III. 

The  Growing  Hatred  of  Jesus    . 
(Chapters  J-//.) 

65 

IV. 

The  Secret  of  Jesus    .        .        .        . 
{Chapters  12-1';) 

95 

V. 

The  Scorn  of  Christ's  Enemies  . 
{Chapters  18  and  ig.) 

131 

VI. 

The  Vindication 

{Chapters  20  and  21.) 

153 

I 

PRELIMINARY  POINTS 

"  We  know  that  his  witness  is  true." 

I,    The  Author. 

A  MYSTERY  hangs  over  the  authorship  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  that  may  never  be  com- 
pletely removed.  For  some  reason  the 
writer  repeatedly  speaks  of  "the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved"  and  never  mentions  by  name  the 
Apostle  John,  though  he  does  speak  of  "  the  sons 
of  Zebedee"  (John  21  :  2)  as  two  of  the  seven  pres- 
ent by  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  and  he  apparently  identi- 
fies one  of  these  seven  with  "  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved  following  "  Jesus  and  Peter  (21  :  20),  and 
the  claim  is  pointedly  made  in  21 :  24  that  the  dis- 
ciple whom  Jesus  loved  is  the  author  of  the  book. 
If  it  is  not  modesty  on  the  part  of  the  author  that 
keeps  him  from  calling  himself  by  name  when  there 
was  occasion  for  it,  one  seems  forced  to  think  that 
the  author  has  a  strange  prejudice  against  John  the 
Apostle.  One  other  alternative  is,  of  course,  possi- 
ble, that  the  writer  was  trying  to  create  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  the  Apostle  John  without  saying 
so  in  plain  language.     But  one  who  desired  to  do 


12  THE  DIVINITY  OP  CHEIST 

that  would  hardly  hesitate  to  go  further  like  the 
other  pseudonymous  writings  of  the  period.  Delff ' 
advocates  the  view  that  the  author  of  this  Gospel 
was  not  one  of  the  Twelve,  but  a  native  of  Jerusa- 
lem and  of  a  family  of  wealth  and  priestly  rank. 
There  is  some  attractiveness  in  this  view  to  Sanday  ^ 
who  offers  it  as  a  possible  alternative  to  the  Johan- 
nine  authorship  which  he  still  tentatively  holds.  The 
trouble  is  that  we  have  to  hypothecate  an  unknown 
bosom  friend  of  Jesus  in  Jerusalem  outside  the 
number  of  the  Twelve  who  yet  was  as  close  to  Jesus 
as  the  inner  circle  of  three  (Peter,  James,  and  John) 
in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  and  who,  like  John  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  and  Acts  and  Galatians,  was  also 
a  companion  of  Simon  Peter.  There  is  also  left 
unexplained  the  apparent  prejudice  against  John 
the  Apostle  in  the  Fourth  Gospel.  The  Gospel 
itself,  taken  in  connection  with  the  facts  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels,  calls  for  the  Apostle  John  as 
the  author.  Sanday  ^  holds  that  this  is  "  the  more 
natural  and  obvious  view."  The  arguments  for  it 
are  very  strong  as  presented  by  Luthardt,*  Light- 

*"Das  Vierte  Evangelium  wiedergestellt "  (1890); 
"  Ncue  Beitrage  zur  Kritik  und  Erklarung  des  vierten  Evan- 
geliums  '*  (1890). 

'"The  Criticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,"  pp.  17,  107. 
Swete  ("The  Journal  of  Theological  Studies,"  July,  19 16, 
pp.  271-278)  puts  the  view  of  DelfF plausibly  as  a  tentative 
alternative  to  the  Johannine  authorship. 

^  "  Criticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,"  p.  107. 

* "  St.  John  the  Author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  "  (1875). 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  13 

foot/  Westcott,2  Ezra  Abbott,^  Godet/  Zahn,^  B. 
Weiss,^  Dods/  James  Drummond,^^  Sanday,^  Stan- 
ton/'' VVatkins/^  These  are  weighty  names  in 
modern  criticism  and  they  offer  powerful  argu- 
ments for  the  position  that  the  Apostle  John  wrote 
the  Fourth  Gospel.  He  was  a  Jew,  a  Palestinian, 
and  an  eye-witness  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  and 
claims  the  most  intimate  relation  with  Jesus.  All 
this  points  to  John  beyond  a  doubt  and  the  argu- 
ment is  to  me  satisfactory  and  convincing. 

Probably  there  would  have  arisen  no  doubt  on 
the  subject  if  we  did  not  have  the  Apocalypse 
of  John  which  expressly  claims  to  have  been  writ- 
ten by  a  "  John  "  (Rev.  i  :  9).  The  tone  and  tem- 
per of  this  book,  along  with  its  grammatical  sole- 
cisms, have  led  many  to  conclude  that  the  same 

*"  Biblical  Essays,"  pp.  1-122.  ^ 

^  Vol.  I  of  his  commentary  (1909),  pp.  ix-clxxviii. 

'"  Critical  Essays  "  (1888),  pp.  9-108. 

***  Commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  John,"  2  vols.  (1886- 
1890). 

^"Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,"  3  vols.  (1909). 

*  "  A  Manual  of  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament," 
2  vols.  (1889);  "Dritte  Auflage "  (1897).  "  Meyer- 
Komm.  9  Aufl."  (1902). 

''  "  Expositor's  Greek  Testament  "  (1902). 

^  **  An  Inquiry  into  the  Character  and  Authorship  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  "  (1904). 

^"The  Criticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  "  (1905). 

^°  "  The  Gospels  as  Historical  Documents,"  Part  I  (1903). 

^^  "  Modern  Criticism  Considered  in  Relation  to  the  Fourth 
Gospel"  (1890). 


14  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

man  cannot  be  the  author  of  both  books.  The 
Epistles  cause  httle  difficulty  since  in  style  they 
closely  resemble  the  Gospel.  There  are,  to  be  sure, 
men  who  deny  the  real  Johannine  authorship  of  any 
of  these  books,  like  Moffatt,  who  regards  the  author 
of  the  original  P'ourth  Gospel  (chaps.  i-20)  and  the 
Appendix  (chap.  21)  as  "  both  unknown  "  ^  and  the 
author  of  the  Apocalypse  as  probably  the  Presby- 
ter John.'^  He  admits  the  possibility  that  the  Pres- 
byter John  is  the  author  of  all  the  Johannine  writ- 
ings. Papias,  as  quoted  by  Eusebius,^  is  responsible 
for  the  theory  that  the  Presbyter  John  is  the  author 
of  one  or  of  all  the  Johannine  books.  "  The  elder  " 
(3  John  i)  is  the  author  of  the  Third  Epistle  of 
John.  But  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  Papias 
means  to  assert  the  separate  existence  of  the  "  Pres- 
byter John."  He  may  simply  be  repeating  his 
reference  to  the  Disciple  or  Apostle  John.^  Some, 
accepting  this  nebulous  "  Presbyter  John,"  would 
claim  the  Gospel  and  Epistles  for  him  and  the 
Apocalypse  for  the  Apostle  John  because  of  its 
grammatical  crudities  (cf.  Acts  4  :  13).  Others 
would  argue  precisely  the  other  way  and  claim 
the  Gospel  for  the  Apostle  and  the  Apocalypse  for 
the  Presbyter. 

There   is   thus  a  considerable  body  of  opinion 

^  "  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament " 
(191 1),  p.  570. 

^  Ibid.y  p.  615. 

^  Eus.  H.  E.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  39,  6  Trpeff^utepo^  'Iwdvvrj^. 

*See  the  matter  argued  by  Dom  Chapman,  "John  the 
Presbyter  and  the  Fourth  Gospel"  (191 1). 


PEELIMINARY  POINTS  15 

against  the  Johannine  authorship  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  represented  by  such  names  as  Bacon,  H.  J. 
Holtzmann,  O.  Holtzmann,  Jiilicher,  Loisy,  Moffatt, 
Pfleiderer,  Reville,  Schmiedel,  Wernle,  Wrede. 
There  is  obviously  not  room  in  my  book  for  an 
examination  of  the  various  objections  raised  by 
these  critics  to  the  Johannine  authorship  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  They  are  presented  both  on  in- 
ternal and  external  grounds  and  are  ably  and  subtly 
argued.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  these  men 
reject  the  supernatural  and  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ, 
though  this  is  by  no  means  true  of  Moffatt  who 
ably  defends  both  positions,  and  not  vi^holly  true  of 
Bacon.  Per  contra,  it  is  pleasant  to  note  that  both 
Ezra  Abbott  and  James  Drummond  are  Unitarians 
and  no  writers  have  produced  abler  defenses  of  the 
Johannine  authorship  than  they  have  done.  Bishop 
Lightfoot*  once  said  that  the  opponents  of  the 
Johannine  authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  were 
either  Rationalists  who  rejected  the  supernatural  or 
Unitarians  who  denied  the  deity  of  Christ  Jesus. 
This  is  not  precisely  true  to-day  as  Bacon  ^  shows, 
although  it  is  to  some  extent.  Bacon  himself  is  a 
keen  representative  of  those  who  wish  to  hold  on 
in  some  form  to  belief  in  the  deity  of  Jesus  and  yet 
who  find  themselves  much  puzzled  by  modern 
knowledge  in  science  and  Biblical  criticism.^  He 
overemphasizes   the   contrast  between  the  Fourth 

*  "  Biblical  Essays,"  p.  47. 

'  "  The  Fourth  Gospel  in  Research  and  Debate  "  (1910), 
pp.  2f.  »/^/V.,  pp.  535  f. 


16  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Gospel  and  the  Synoptic  Gospels  and  bluntly  says 
that  both  accounts  cannot  be  true  and  we  must 
make  our  choice.*  This  standpoint  is  only  true  of 
those  who  hang  up  on  this  or  that  detail  and  lose  a 
clear  grasp  of  the  total  picture.  No  one  has  put 
the  case  against  the  Johannine  authorship  more 
adroitly  than  has  Bacon,  though  his  objections  are 
in  the  main  those  of  his  predecessors.  The  style  of 
the  narrative  and  of  the  discourses  is  the  same ;  the 
picture  of  Jesus  differs  radically  from  that  of  the 
Synoptics ;  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  language  and 
thought  is  too  unlike  that  of  the  Synoptics ;  the 
philosophy  of  the  book  is  Alexandrian  (like  Philo) ; 
the  book  is  a  later  development  of  Hellenism  and 
Paulinism  and  even  with  Gnostic  tendencies ;  the 
language  is  too  finished  for  John  the  fisherman- 
apostle.  These  arguments  are  more  or  less  impress- 
ive, but  are  all  capable  of  a  different  shading  in 
entire  harmony  with  the  Johannine  authorship. 
If  John  lived  to  the  close  of  Domitian's  reign,  as 
Irenaeus  says  he  did,  he  had  ample  opportunity  in 
Ephesus  for  contact  with  Hellenistic,  Gnostic,  and 
Philonic  teaching  and  for  the  furbishing  of  his  style, 
if  indeed  a  group  of  friends  there  did  not  read  the 
manuscript  for  him.  Contrast  the  *'we"  and  the 
"I"  in  21  :  24,  25.  An  old  man  would  naturally 
tend  to  report  the  dialogue  somewhat  in  his  own 
style.  Indeed,  the  Synoptic  Gospels  vary  greatly 
in  the  report  of  the  words  of  Jesus,  some  of  which 

'  "The  Fourth  Gospel  in  Research  and  Debate  "  (1910), 
PP-  3  f. 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  17 

certainly  were  translated  from  the  Aramaic.  It 
would  not  be  surprising  if  Paul  had  some  influence 
on  John  the  Apostle  as  he  did  upon  Simon  Peter. 
It  is  not  true  that  the  picture  of  Jesus  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel  differs  wholly  from  that  in  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  nor  even  from  that  in  Q  (the  Logia  of  Jesus) 
supposed  to  he  behind  our  present  Matthew  and 
Luke.  In  Q  Jesus  is  both  Lord  and  Christ  and 
makes  claims  to  a  rank  above  that  of  man. 

There  are  other  theories  about  the  Gospel  of 
John.  Some  men  admit  a  Johannine  kernel  and 
explain  the  book  as  the  work  of  a  disciple  of  the 
Apostle  John  or  as  the  work  of  a  Johannine  school. 
These  views  are  held  in  various  forms  by  von  Dob- 
schutz/  Harnack,^  Briggs,^  Wendt.*  Sanday^  con- 
siders all  these  efforts  "  foredoomed  to  failure  "  and 
I  agree  with  him.  Some  of  these  theories  also  sug- 
gest a  great  deal  of  transposition  of  material  which 
is  a  rather  easy  way  out  of  a  difficulty. 

This  great  problem  will  continue  to  be  discussed 
and  men  will  be  convinced  one  way  or  the  other 
partly  by  temperament  and  predisposition.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  absolute  impartiality.  It  would 
probably  be  wholly  negative   and   ineffective  if  it 

^  **  Probleme  des  apostolischen  Zeitalters  "  (1904). 

'^  **  ChronoJogie  d.  altchristlichen  Litteratur.** 

^"General  Introduction  to  Scriptures"  (1899);  "New 
Light  on  the  Life  of  Jesus  "  (1904). 

'"The  Teaching  of  Jesus  "  (1892);  "The  Gospel  Ac- 
cording to  John  :  An  Inquiry  into  its  Genesis  and  Historical 
Value"  (1892). 

*"  Criticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,"  p.  22. 


18  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

were  found.  I  have  not  space  here  to  give  the 
reasons  for  the  faith  that  is  in  me  for  the  Johannine 
authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  but  I  at  least  may 
be  allowed  to  say  that  the  reasons  are  satisfying  to 
my  own  mind  after  due  and  long  consideration  of 
the  minute  and  zealous  criticism  on  all  sides  of  the 
problem.  There  is  one  point  at  least  that  I  wish  to 
accent  a  bit,  and  that  is  the  double  strain  in  John's 
own  temperament.  Jesus  called  John  and  James 
Boanerges,  or  sons  of  thunder  (Mark  3:  17),  and 
the  selfish  ambition  of  these  two  men  and  their 
mother  when  they  requested  the  two  best  places  in 
the  temporal  kingdom  (Matt.  20  :  20;  Luke  18  :  35) 
which  they  expected  justifies  this  description.  Be- 
sides, they  wished  to  call  down  fire  on  the  Samaritan 
village  that  did  not  welcome  Jesus.  John  wished 
to  stop  a  man  who  was  casting  out  demons  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  but  who  did  not  belong  to  the  com- 
pany of  the  Twelve  (Mark  9 :  38  f. ;  Luke  9  :  49  f.). 
And  yet  if  John  was  the  author  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  and  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  a  won- 
derful change  must  have  come  over  him.  That  is 
possible.  I  happen  to  know  that  Basil  Manly,  Jr., 
who  used  to  be  called  "  the  Beloved  John  "  because 
of  his  gentleness  and  grace,  was  once  a  man  of 
violent  temper  with  occasional  outbursts  of  vehe- 
mence. But  he  overcame  his  temper.  However,  in 
the  First  Epistle  of  John  we  still  see  both  traits  in 
the  old  disciple  who  writes  so  tenderly  to  the  "  little 
children  "  about  love  (i  John  2:7-17)  and  almost 
in  the  same  breath  says  that  the  man  is  "  a  liar  " 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  19 

who  claims  to  know  God  and  does  not  keep  His 
commandments  (i  John  2  :  4).  There  is  the  crash 
of  the  thunderbolt  still  and  the  lightning  flash  of 
anger  in  the  old  man  yet  as  he  rages  against  the 
professional  pietists  who  claimed  exclusive  mystic 
knowledge  of  God  but  denied  Him  by  their  loose 
living,  justifying  themselves  by  their  Gnostic  philos- 
ophy. The  Apocalypse  has  still  more  of  the  thun- 
der and  the  lightning,  but  even  here  there  are 
flashes  of  tenderness  and  notes  of  love  and  grace. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  say  in  passing  that,  while 
the  Apocalypse  presents  difficulties  all  its  own,  it  is 
entirely  possible  that  the  Hnguistic  freedom  seen 
there  may  be  partly  due  to  the  excitement  of  the 
visions  and  partly  to  lack  of  revision  owing  to  the 
author's  isolation  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos.*  The  lan- 
guage in  John  21:  24  may  suggest  that  the  Ephe- 
sian  elders  revised  the  work  of  the  Apostle.  But 
this  matter  is  not  an  essential  phase  of  the  problem 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  We  must  not  forget  how 
much  we  do  not  know  of  the  work  and  growth  of 
the  Apostle  John,  who  had  no  Luke  to  record  his 
deeds  for  future  ages  after  the  opening  chapters  of 
Acts,  and  even  there  John  is  distinctly  overshad- 
owed by  Simon  Peter.  The  figure  of  the  Apostle 
John  remains  in  the  shadow,  now  behind  Jesus,  now 
behind  Peter,  and  now  behind  Paul.  And  yet  this 
quiet  (anon  explosive)  man  of  poetic  and  reflective 
temperament  outlived  all  the  circle  of  the  Twelve. 

*  See  Robertson,  "  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  Light  of  Historical  Research,"  pp.  133-137. 


20  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

It  was  his  glory  to  be  the  eagle  of  that  circle  and  to 
fly  higher  than  any  of  them  in  his  flight  after  the 
truth  that  is  in  Jesus.  He  became  the  Mystic 
Christian  *  who  rivalled  "  Paul  the  Mystic,"  ^  His 
old  age  is  delicately  alluded  to  in  the  Epilogue  to 
his  Gospel  (John  21 :  20-23)  ^^d  the  misapprehen- 
sion of  the  word  of  Jesus  about  it  corrected.^  But 
John  lived  through  the  entire  wonderful  first  cen- 
tury A.  D.  He  knew  the  humble  hfe  around  the 
Sea  of  Galilee  and  followed  Jesus  till  Calvary  came 
and  the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension.  He  was 
at  Pentecost  and  shared  the  prison  with  Peter  during 
the  early  years  in  Jerusalem.  He  was  co- labourer 
with  Peter,  James  and  Paul  (Gal.  2:  i-io)  in  the 
great  missionary  plans  for  the  age.  Canon  Selwyn 
{The  Expositor,  September,  19 16,  pp.  229-236) 
claims  that  in  John  3 :  32-35  John  makes  a  direct 
reference  to  Ephesians  4:  16.  If  true,  there  is  cer- 
tainly no  harm  in  it  and  no  surprise  about  it,  for 
these  are  probably  the  writer's  own  words.  He  is 
said  to  have  lived  long  in  Ephesus  after  Jerusalem 
was  destroyed  and  the  Temple  gone.  He  hved  on 
after  the  men  of  the  first  age  of  Christianity  had 
disappeared.  He  was  able  to  look  back  upon  the 
old  Judaism  and  the  early  Christianity  and  upon 
the  later  expansion  into  a  world  faith  in  competi- 

^  Cf.  Watson,  **  The  Mysticism  of  St.  John's  Gospel  " 
(1916).  ^Campbell,  1907. 

^  I  wish  to  call  especial  attention  to  the  beautiful  sketch  of 
the  life  of  John  the  Apostle  in  Stalker's  **  The  Two  Johns  " 
(1895).  . 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  21 

tion  with  the  cults  of  the  East  and  the  philosophies 
of  Greece  in  the  great  new  age  of  Roman  imperial- 
ism. And  John  seeks  to  interpret  Jesus  after  many 
others  had  done  it  with  great  ability  and  success, 
and  yet  he  carried  within  his  breast  hallowed  mem- 
ories of  hours  on  the  bosom  of  Christ,  a  rich  legacy 
of  words  that  he  must  tell  before  he  die. 

2.    The  Purpose. 

The  author  tells  us  himself  why  he  writes  his 
Gospel:  «*  Many  other  signs  therefore  did  Jesus  in 
the  presence  of  the  disciples,  which  are  not  written 
in  this  book :  but  these  are  written  that  ye  may 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ; 
and  that  believing  ye  may  have  life  in  his  name  " 
(John  20 :  30  f.).  His  purpose  *  is  thus  avowedly 
stated  to  be  to  induce  continued^  belief  that  the 
man  Jesus,  whose  career  he  has  portrayed  in  part, 
is  the  Anointed  One,^  the  Hebrew  Messiah  of  prom- 
ise and  Jiope,  and  also  the  Son  of  God  *  (not  a  son 
of  God,  but  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  God  as  he 
has  previously  shown) ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  his 
further  purpose  is  that  thus  the  readers  of  the  book 
may  by  believing^  have  Hfe^  in  the  name^  of  Jesus. 
The  author  is  thus  perfectly  frank  with  his  readers. 

*  Note  7va  in  the  full  final  sense. 
^  Linear  tense  TriffTeurjrs  (present  subjunctive). 
'  6  j(pt<Tr6^.  *  6  ulo^  TOO  Oeou.  ^  irtffrevovre^, 

l^wrjv  e^yjTs.      Keep  on  having  life. 

tv  ru)  dvdfiaTt.  Name  here  stands  for  the  power  of  Jesus 
as  in  the  Old  Testament  usage  and  this  usage  occurs  also  in 
the  papyri. 


6 

7  2. 


22  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

He  is  a  preacher  first  of  all  of  life  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  He  is  in  no  wise  ashamed 
of  that  fact.  He  is,  besides,  an  apologist  for  Chris- 
tianity. He  has  laid  down  a  thesis  in  the  Prologue 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  effect  that  the  Logos  or  Word, 
the  Eternal  Son  of  God  (i :  l,  i8),  was  not  only  with 
God  in  the  Pre-incarnate  state,  but  was  also  God ; 
and  that  this  Logos,  who  was  God,  became  flesh 
and  dwelt  among  men  (i :  14),  who  beheld  His 
glory  and  testified  to  His  power.  This  thesis  he 
sets  out  to  prove.  He  claims  that  he  has  succeeded 
in  his  undertaking  and  hopes  to  win  converts  to 
Christ  by  his  book. 

There  are  critics  who  say  at  once  that  this  is 
history  with  a  purpose  and  hence  it  is  devoid  of 
real  historical  value.  But  this  is  very  superficial 
criticism  at  best  and  implies  that  historians  write 
in  a  purely  objective  way  like  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle.  This  is,  of  course,  untrue.  No  history 
worth  the  reading  is  other  than  the  writer's  inter- 
pretation and  arrangement  of  the  facts  to  prove  his 
philosophy  of  history.  This  is  just  as  true  of 
Ferrero's  *'  Greatness  and  Decline  of  Rome  "  as  of 
Gibbon's  "  DecHne  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire." 
Purely  objective  historical  writing  is  a  myth  in  so 
far  as  it  applies  to  the  interpreters  of  men  and 
movements  of  the  ages.  Moffatt,*  though  not  ac- 
cepting the  Johannine  authorship,  pointedly  says  : 
**  The  day  is   now  over,  or  almost  over,  when  the 

^  **  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament,** 
p.  540. 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  23 

Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Synoptists  could  be  played 
off  against  each  other  in  a  series  of  rigid  antitheses, 
as  though  the  one  were  a  matter-of-fact  and  homo- 
geneous chronicle  and  the  other  a  spiritual  reading 
of  the  earlier  tradition.  The  problem  is  too  delicate 
and  complex  for  such  crude  methods.  Recent 
criticism  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  has  brought  them 
nearer  to  the  Fourth  Gospel."  The  Gospel  of 
Matthew  is  just  as  much  a  treatise  as  is  the  Gospel 
of  John.  The  one  undertakes  to  show  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  is  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  the  other 
to  prove  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God.  And  Mark's 
Gospel  is  really  a  pamphlet  to  set  forth  the  power 
of  God  in  the  work  of  Christ  with  the  necessary  im- 
plications and  inferences  of  a  theological  nature 
concerning  the  person  and  claims  of  Jesus.  Luke, 
the  Hellenistic  historian,  with  the  scholar's  instincts 
and  habits  (Luke  i  :  1-4),  though  expressly  claim- 
ing to  write  accurately,  by  no  means  presents  a 
colourless  narrative,  for  he  clearly  takes  sides  in 
the  issue  about  Jesus  whose  deeds  and  teachings  he 
sets  forth  in  the  Gospel  and  also  in  the  Acts  (Acts 
I  :  1-5)-  The  New  Testament  writers  are  all 
advocates  of  Jesus  as  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
else  they  would  not  have  written  at  all.  It  is 
preposterous  to  say  that  the  very  men  who  knew 
most  by  personal  experience  and  by  research  about 
Jesus  were  the  least  qualified  to  set  forth  a  true 
record  of  His  character  and  worth.  There  is  in 
them  the  bias  of  love,  but  not  the  blindness  of  love. 
Indeed,  nothing  is  more  striking  in  all  the  Gospels 


24  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

than  the  naive  truthfulness  in  the  report  of  the  dull- 
ness of  these  very  men  in  the  presence  of  the  full 
brightness  of  Christ's  glory.  The  Gospels  are,  to  be 
sure,  to  be  studied  like  other  historical  documents, but 
certainly  with  the  same  spirit  of  fairness  that  is  ac- 
corded toThucydides  and  Livy  (which  is  by  no  means 
always  the  case).  There  is  also  the  additional  cir- 
cumstance of  the  greatness  of  the  character  who 
is  here  set  forth.  This  latter  point  is  not  reasoning 
in  a  circle,  for  the  Gospels  did  not  create  Jesus 
Christ.  To  be  sure  He  began  His  career  as  Jesus 
and  won  the  title  of  the  Christ,  but  it  is  not  true 
that  early  Christianity  is  merely  the  record  of  the 
deification  of  Jesus.  There  was  a  *•  Jesus  or  Christ  " 
controversy,'  but  it  was  fought  before  a  pen  was 


*  For  modern  "  Jesus  or  Christ "  controversy  see  the 
Hibbert  Journal  Supplement  (Reprint  for  January,  1909)  ; 
Abbott,  "The  Son  of  Man'*  (19 10);  Bacon,  "Jesus  the 
Son  of  God"  (191 1);  Briggs,  **  The  Incarnation  of  Our 
Lord"  (1902);  Bruce,  "The  Humiliation  of  Our  Lord" 
(1902)  ;  Denney,  "Jesus  and  the  Gospel"  (1908);  Dorner, 
"History  of  the  Development  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Person 
of  Christ,"  (5  vols.,  1 878)  ;  Fairbairn,  "  The  Place  of  Christ 
in  Modern  Theology  "  (1893)  ;  Feine,  **  Jesus  Christus  und 
Paulus "  (1905);  Forrest,  "The  Christ  of  History  and 
Experience  "  (1897),  "The  Authority  of  Christ  "  (1906)  ; 
Forsyth,  "  The  Person  and  Place  of  Jesus  Christ"  (1909); 
GifFord,  *' The  Incarnation"  (1897);  Gore,  "The  Incar- 
nation of  the  Son  of  God  "  ( 1 89 1 )  ;  Knowling,  "  Testimony 
of  St.  Paul  to  Christ"  (2d  edition,  191 1);  Liddon,  "  Our 
Lord's  Divinity  "  (1889)  ;  Mackintosh,  "  The  Doctrine  of 
the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ"  (1912);  A.  Meyer,  "Jesus  or 
Paul"  (1909);  Nicoll,  "The  Church's  One  Foundation  " 
(1902)  ;  Parker,  "  Eccc  Dcus  "  (1875)  ;  Sanday,  "  Chris- 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  25 

put  to  paper  and  the  record  of  it  is  told  in  the 
Gospels  themselves.  Here  we  see  how  the  claims 
of  Jesus  were  met,  how  the  little  band  of  believers 
were  true  when  the  ecclesiastics  closed  round  the 
Master  in  hate,  how  they  fell  away  in  sheer  despair 
when  He  lay  buried  in  Joseph's  tomb,  how  they 
won  their  way  back  to  faith  and  hope  in  the  Risen 
Lord  by  His  own  triumph  over  their  stubborn 
doubts,  how  at  last  power  came  after  the  Risen 
Lord  ascended  on  high  with  the  promise  to  return 
and  with  the  enlightenment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
help  them  interpret  the  wondrous  Being  whom 
they  had  known.  All  this  is  clearly  set  forth  in 
all  the  Gospels  and  in  the  opening  chapters  of  Acts. 
These  men  grew,  to  be  sure,  in  the  fullness  of  their 
knowledge  of  the  significance  of  Jesus,  as  He  had 
promised  that  they  should  under  the  tutelage  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (John  15:26;  16:14).  The  same 
story  is  repeated  in  the  growth  of  Paul  as  is  told  in 
the  Acts  and  in  his  Epistles.  But  no  one  of  these 
men  grew  more  than  did  the  gifted  son  of  Zebedee, 
who  in  spite  of  lack  of  the  culture  of  the  schools, 
like  Bunyan,  had  the  spark  of  genius  and  the 
supreme  culture  of  the  spirit  through  suffering  and 
long  reflection  and  communion  with  God.     "  The 

tologies  Ancient  and  Modern"  (19 10);  Schweitzer,  "The 
Quest  of  the  Historical  jesus "  (19 10);  Stalker,  "The 
Christology  of  Jesus"  (1901);  Thorburn,  ** Jesus  the 
Christ  :  Historical  or  Mythical  "  (1912)  ;  Warfield,  "  The 
Lord  of  Glory  "  (1  907)  ;  Weinel,  "  Jesus  im  neunzehnten 
Jahrhundcrt  "  ( 1906);  J.  Weiss,  **  Christ :  The  Beginnings 
of  Dogma  "  (191 1). 


26  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Historical  Value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel "  is  the  title 
of  an  excellent  volume^  that  seeks  to  sift  and 
weigh  the  various  portions  of  the  story  of  Jesus  as 
told  in  John's  "  Memorabilia "  of  a  greater  than 
Socrates  and  by  a  greater  than  Xenophon  or  Plato. 
But  just  as  we  can  get  a  true  picture  of  Socrates 
from  both  Xenophon  and  Plato  who  differ  greatly 
in  style,  so  we  can  see  Jesus  in  each  and  in  all  the 
Gospels. 

Certain  it  is  that  to-day  scholars  are  much  more 
inclined  to  credit  historical  statements  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel  when  standing  alone  than  was  once  the 
case.^  The  danger  of  our  deciding  what  could  or 
could  not  have  taken  place  in  ancient  days  is  a 

^By  E.  H.  Askwith,  19 lo.  E.  F.  Scott  ("The  His- 
torical and  Religious  Value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,"  1909) 
thinks  (p.  83)  that  John  **  has  modified  and  idealized  the 
facts,"  but  yet  **  it  possesses  an  inestimable  value  even  for 
history." 

^  After  I  had  written  this  portion  of  my  discussion  I  read 
with  much  interest  in  the  September  Expositor  (1916)  Rev. 
John  Macaskill's  article  on  **  A  Transformation  in  Socratic 
Criticism — vv^ith  an  Analogy."  Here  the  strong  defense  of 
the  correctness  of  Plato's  presentation  of  Socrates  by  Prof. 
John  Burnet  in  his  **  Greek  Philosophy  "  is  deftly  used  by 
the  writer  as  a  parallel  to  the  Fourth  Gospel.  The  Synoptics 
are  more  like  Xenophon  and  the  Fourth  Gospel  like  Plato. 
Professor  Burnet  takes  Plato  as  the  true  interpreter  of  Socrates 
instead  of  Xenophon,  contrary  to  the  usual  custom.  Macas- 
kill  argues  cleverly  that  Socrates  may  be  correctly  presented 
by  both  writers,  Socrates  in  different  moods.  **  As  it  was 
reserved  to  Plato  with  his  metaphysical  insight  to  give  to  the 
world  the  higher  flights  of  his  master's  genius,  so  it  may  have 
been  reserved  to  some  *  beloved  disciple  '  to  interpret  the 
larger  and  the  diviner  elements  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus." 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  27 

perilous  proceeding  as  Inge  *  so  well  shows.  At 
best  we  have  only  fragments  of  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  as  John  himself  says  (21  :  25)  in  a 
beautiful  hyperbole,  if  you  will,  but  which  clearly 
recognizes  the  partial  nature  of  the  book  of  John. 
Indeed,  if  John  seems  to  have  caught  one  strain  in 
the  music  of  Christ's  life  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
notes,  that  in  itself  is  not  inconceivable  on  the  part 
of  the  bosom  friend  of  Jesus  whose  sensitive  nature 
responded  best  to  that  high  key.  But  it  is  more 
than  curious  that  the  logion  in  Matthew  11:2/ 
(Luke  lO:2i)  is  in  precisely  the  style  of  the  dis- 
courses of  Jesus  in  John;  and  this  logion  goes  back 
to  the  Q  of  criticism.  The  very  claim  to  intimate 
fellowship  with  Jesus  on  the  part  of  the  author  pre- 
pares one  to  expect  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  an  un- 
usual amount  of  original  material  as  the  justification 
for  a  later  book  in  addition  to  the  three  well-known 
and  long  accepted  Synoptic  Gospels.  The  book  is 
not  to  be  discounted  because  of  the  personality  of 
the  writer,  but  is  to  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of 
it.  There  is,  no  doubt,  some  shading  by  that  rich 
personality  through  the  mellow  mist  of  the  long 
years  since  the  now  old  man  mingled  so  freely  in  the 
years  of  his  youth  with  the  incomparable  Person 
whose  light  even  now  dazzles  John  as  he  writes. 
But  John  has  truthfully  drawn  the  Portrait  of  Christ 
as  he  saw  Him,  and  as  He  is,  a  picture  that  in  a 
wonderful  way  supplements   and  harmonizes   with 

^ "  The  Historical  Value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  '*  (**  Cam- 
bridge Biblical  Essays,"  1909). 


28  THE  DIVINITY  OP  CHEIST 

that  drawn  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  Neither  is  a 
complete  picture  of  the  Christ  nor  both  combined. 
My  purpose  therefore  is  frankly  not  to  find  fault 
with  John  for  the  way  in  which  he  has  presented 
the  story  of  Jesus,  but  to  interpret  that  story,  so 
far  as  I  may,  for  those  who  wish  to  follow  John  as 
guide.  E.  F.  Scott  ("  The  Fourth  Gospel;  Its  Pur- 
pose and  Theology,"  1906,  p.  15)  says  :  "  Ignorant 
as  we  are  of  the  personality  of  the  writer,  we  are 
forever  deprived  of  the  ultimate  key  to  his  Gospel." 
But  I  do  not  believe  that  we  are  so  ignorant  and 
the  writer  gives  us  the  key  himself.  If  John  the 
Apostle  did  not  write  the  book,  we  have  to  imagine 
an  unknown  genius  equal  to  the  task. 

3.    The  Method. 

The  writer  in  the  Epilogue  (21  :  25)  tells  us  that 
"  there  are  also  many  other  things  which  Jesus  did, 
the  which  if  they  should  be  written  every  one,  I 
suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  would  not  contain 
the  books  that  should  be  written."  The  "  many 
others,"  *  are  of  a  similar  nature.  John  has  made  a 
brief  selection  out  of  a  great  mass  of  material.  He 
has  "  sampled  "  the  deeds  and  words  of  Jesus  with- 
out any  attempt  to  be  exhaustive.  This,  of  course, 
he  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  This,  in  fact,  is  what 
all  historians  and  biographers  do.  They  pick  out 
and  arrange  and  expound  in  order  to  throw  a  true 
picture  on  the  pages  which  they  write.  The  same 
method  appears  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  which  often 
^  akXa,  not  erepa. 


PKELIMINAEY  POII^TS  29 

speak  of  the  great  number  of  miracles  which  Jesus 
did  without  any  effort  to  give  details/  But  John 
spoke  also  of  the  embarrassment  of  the  wealth  of 
material  at  his  disposal  in  20 :  30 :  **  Many  other 
signs  therefore  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his 
disciples,  which  are  not  written  in  this  book." 
Here  we  have  two  additional  statements.  One  is 
that  he  speaks  of  "  signs."  ^  He  in  this  book  is  re- 
garding the  works  of  Jesus  as  "  signs  "  or  "  proofs  " 
(cf.  "  many  proofs  "  ^  in  Acts  I  :  3)  of  the  claims  of 
Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  The  other  point  is 
that  these  other  "  signs  "  were  also  wrought  "  in 
the  presence  of  the  disciples,"  "  in  the  eye  of"  *  the 
"  learners "  ^  who  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  greatest 
teacher  of  the  ages.  John  is  fully  conscious  that 
he  has  not  produced  all  the  proof  that  is  at  hand, 
evidence  from  eye-witnesses  ^  who  saw  the  "  signs  " 
and  heard  the  words  of  Jesus.  Some  of  these  were 
still  living  when  John  wrote,  as  many  were  still  alive 
who  had  seen  the  Risen  Jesus  when  Paul  wrote  to 
the  Corinthians  (i  Cor.  15:6).  John  has  obviously 
made  a  selection  of  a  few  of  the  "  signs  "  that  suited 
his  purpose  best.  "  But  these  are  written,  that  ye 
may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God ;  and  that  believing  ye  may  have  hfe  in   his 

*Cf.  Matthew  4:23-25;  Mark  1:35-39;  Luke  4: 
42-44. 

^  ffri/xelov  instead  of  Tipa<^  (wonder,  miraculumy  miracle)  or 
8bvaiJ.i<i  (power,  dynamite).  It  requires  all  these  words 
adequately  to  describe  a  gospel  miracle.     Cf.  Acts  2  :  22. 

^ /j.a6T)T(bv.  ^  aoTo-Kzat  (Luke  I  :  2). 


30  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

name"  (John  20:31).  Here  John  has  laid  bare 
his  plan  with  the  utmost  frankness.  If  we  turn 
back  and  go  over  the  whole  Gospel,  we  shall  find 
that  he  has  correctly  described  his  work.  Chapter  i 
is  an  introductory  picture  of  the  Eternal  Logos,  the 
Witness  of  the  Baptist,  and  the  First  Disciples,  but 
the  First  Miracle  or  •'  sign  "  comes  in  2  :  i-ii.  In 
2  :  13-22  there  is  a  demand  for  a  "  sign"  in  proof 
of  the  Messianic  prerogatives  assumed  by  Jesus  in 
the  Temple.  This  incident  leads  to  the  case  of 
Nicodemus  in  chapter  3.  Chapter  4  gives  a  mir- 
acle of  grace  in  the  conversion  of  the  Samaritan 
woman  greater  than  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's 
son  at  Capernaum  at  the  close  of  it.  Chapter  5  is 
a  picture  of  the  miracle  by  the  Pool  of  Bethesda  in 
Jerusalem  and  the  controversy  over  it.  Chapter  6 
tells  of  the  miracle  of  Feeding  the  Five  Thousand 
near  Bethsaida-Julias  and  the  controversy  in  the 
synagogue  in  Capernaum  that  grew  out  of  it.  In 
chapters  7  and  8  we  have  an  echo  of  the  miracle  at 
Jerusalem  in  chapter  5  and  chapter  9  sets  forth  with 
great  detail  the  case  of  the  man  born  blind  which 
runs  in  its  results  into  chapter  lO.  Chapter  1 1  is 
the  great  miracle  of  the  Raising  of  Lazarus  with  its 
effect  on  the  Sanhedrin.  The  result  of  these  and 
other  deeds  of  Jesus  leads  to  the  climax  in  Jeru- 
salem. Chapter  12  gives  a  private  and  a  public 
glimpse  of  Jesus  just  before  the  end.  Chapters 
13-17  are  the  most  distinctive  thing  in  the  Gospel, 
the  Heart  of  Christ,  as  He  unfolds  to  the  eleven  the 
inner  secrets  of  His  soul.    John  shortens  the  de- 


PEELIMINAEY  POINTS  31 

tails  about  the  Trial  and  Crucifixion  (chaps.  1 8  and  ig\ 
and  adds  fresh  items  of  his  own.  Likewise  the  ap- 
pearances in  chapters  20  and  2i  are  from  a  fresh  angle. 
Chapter  21  centers  round  the  miracle  of  the  fishes. 

But  John  does  not  merely  relate  fresh  miracles ; 
he  has  only  eight  in  all.  He  uses  the  narrative  of 
the  selected  miracles  as  turning-points  in  his  story 
and  connects  the  discourses  with  them.  In  other 
words,  he  chooses  a  very  small  number  of  "  signs  " 
which  illustrate  the  power  of  Jesus  from  various 
angles  and  interprets  their  bearing  on  the  work  and 
mission  of  Christ  both  from  his  own  standpoint 
and  in  their  effect  on  friend  and  foe.  The  signs 
are  hinges  in  the  narrative. 

In  his  use  of  dialogue  John  gives  a  dramatic  ef- 
fect to  his  book.  Indeed,  the  Gospel  of  John  is  as 
dramatic  in  effect  as  the  Book  of  Job  and  requires 
the  most  careful  reading  and  comprehension  of  the 
various  parts  if  one  is  to  understand  what  seems  at 
first  so  simple.  He  has  a  marvellous  clarity  and 
simplicity  in  the  use  of  words  which  deceives  one 
into  thinking  that  one  understands  the  book  without 
much  thinking.  But,  if  he  loves  to  use  a  compara- 
tively few  and  more  or  less  common  words  *  to  ex- 
press his  ideas,  let  no  one  imagine  that  there  is  a 
paucity  of  ideas  or  any  shallowness  of  thought  be. 
cause  of  that  fact.  There  is  consummate  art  in  the 
author's  use  of  parallelism  and  antithesis,  repetition 
and  delicate  turns  of  language.     There  is  no  arti- 

^  Cf.  Abbott,  "Johannine  Vocabulary"  (1905);  "Jo- 
hannine  Grammar  "  (1906). 


32  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

ficiality,  but  the  very  pulsing  of  life.  Few  men 
have  ever  written  more  realistic  lines  than  can  be 
found  in  chapters  7-11  where  the  tension  is  at  the 
highest  point.  It  is  not  always  clear  when  the  au- 
thor is  giving  the  thought  of  Jesus  and  when  his 
own  as  in  3  :  16-21,  31-36. 

The  most  striking  thing  about  the  material  in 
the  Gospel  is,  not  simply  that  it  is  nearly  all  ad- 
ditional to  what  we  have  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels, 
but  also  that  the  gaps  in  the  narrative  are  so  wide 
apart.  The  opening  chapters  fill  out  in  brief  outhne 
an  early  ministry  of  a  year's  duration  previous  to 
the  great  Galilean  ministry  of  the  Synoptics.  There 
may  be  a  year  between  chapters  5  and  6  and  six 
months  between  chapters  6  and  7.  There  are  ap- 
parently some  three  months  between  verses  21  and 
22  of  chapter  10.  John  also  mentions  three  pass- 
overs  (2  :  23 ;  6:4;  12  :  i)  and  a  fourth  is  possible 
(5  :  i).  He  gives  chiefly  the  Jerusalem  ministry  as 
the  Synoptics  tell  mainly  of  the  Galilean  work.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  author  is  familiar  with  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  and  selects  his  material  chiefly  from  the  great 
mass  outside  of  their  narratives,  but  with  no  hostile 
purpose  at  all.  He  was  in  a  position,  as  the  Beloved 
Disciple,  to  do  a  unique  service  for  his  Master  and  he 
does  it  with  supreme  genius  and  consummate  skill. 

One  must  not  forget  that,  when  John  wrote 
towards  the  close  of  the  first  century  A.  d.,  he  is  no 
longer  the  young  man  that  he  was  when  first  he 
saw  Jesus  and  followed  Him  (John  I  :  37).  He  must 
inevitably  look  back  upon  the  treasured  words  and 


PRELIMINARY  POINTS  33 

deeds  of  Jesus  out  of  a  rich  and  long  experience. 
He  had  tested  the  hfe  that  is  in  Christ  in  his  own 
heart  and  in  the  hves  of  many  others.  He  himself 
has  grown  tremendously  with  the  years.  He  is 
now  John  the  Theologian.'  He  is  a  citizen  of  the 
great  world  and  looks  at  Christianity  more  from  the 
world-view  from  Ephesus  and  is  able  to  speak  of 
"  the  Jews  "  as  if  he  were  not  one  himself,  for  now 
the  Jews  and  the  Christians  are  separate.  But  if 
John  is  now  cosmopolitan  with  a  touch  of  Philo  or 
even  of  Plato  in  his  intellectual  equipment,  he  is 
still  more  a  citizen  of  heaven.  The  story  may  or 
may  not  be  true  that  John  ran  out  of  the  public 
bath  when  Cerinthus  came  in  for  fear  that  harm 
might  come  to  him  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
Gnostic  heretic.  He  was  still  the  Son  of  Thunder. 
It  may  be  true  that  he  used  to  say,  "  Little  chil- 
dren, love  one  another,"  as  he  was  borne  about  in  his 
chair  in  his  old  age.  But  it  is  true  that  John  felt  him- 
self a  citizen  of  heaven  in  as  true  a  sense  as  Paul  did 
and  surpassed  Paul  in  the  steadiness  of  his  gaze  into 
the  eternal  mysteries  of  grace  in  Christ  Jesus  Paul 
has  more  heat  and  a  stronger  blaze,  but  John  has  more 
light  for  those  with  eyes  to  see  into  the  depths  with 
him.  Watson's  closing  chapter  in  his  "  Mysticism 
of  St.  John's  Gospel  "  is  •*  The  Practical  Application 
of  the  Incarnation."  That  is  John's  idea.  He  is 
no  idle  "  crystal  gazer."  He  is  a  practical  mystic, 
"  that  believing  ye  may  have  life  in  his  name."  He 
is  sure  that  Jesus  is  Life  and  can  give  life. 

*  6  OeoXoyo^. 


n 

THE  MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH 

(Chapters  I -4) 

"  We  have  found  the  Messiah'* 

I.    The  Prologue  (i :  1-18). 

VOLUMES*  have  been  written  upon  these 
verses  alone  for  they  challenge  attention 
by  the  very  boldness  of  the  language  used 
and  as  a  forecast  of  the  thought  of  the  entire  book. 
Many  continue  to  be  puzzled  as  well  as  charmed  by 
this  remarkable  picture  of  the  eternal  relations  of 
the  Son  of  God.  The  other  Gospels  have  shown 
Jesus  to  be  the  Saviour,  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of 
man,  and  the  Son  of  God.  In  Matthew  and  in 
Luke  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ  is  shown  to  be  both 
divine  and  human  since  He  is  begotten  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  by  the  Holy  Spirit  (Luke  X  :  26-38 ;  Matt. 
I  :  18-25).  Jesus  is  presented  as  sinless  and  well- 
pleasing  to  His  Father.  But  John  treats  the  Incarna- 
tion as  only  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God. 
He  is  profoundly  convinced  both  of  the  humanity 
and  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  insists  against 
the  Docetic  Gnostics  that  Jesus  shed  real  blood  on 

^  Cf.  Baldensperger's  **  Dcr  Prolog  des  vierten  Evan- 
geliums  "  (1898);  Harnack,  "  Ueber  das  Verhaltniss  des 
Prologs  des  vierten  Evangeliums  zum  ganzen  Werke  ** 
(1892). 

34 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    35 

the  Cross  of  which  he  was  a  personal  witness  (John 
19 :  35).  But  he  is  equally  confident  against  the 
Cerinthian  Gnostics  that  Jesus  and  the  Christ  are 
one  and  the  same  person,  Son  of  man  and  Son  of 
God.  He  will  have  none  of  the  notion  that  the 
^on  Christ  came  on  Jesus  at  His  baptism  and  left 
Him  at  His  death.  The  Word  became  flesh  (i  :  14), 
but  retained  the  same  personality.  As  Christianity 
came  into  contact  with  rival  faiths,  it  was  inevitable 
that  Christian  leaders  and  teachers  should  reexamine 
their  theology  in  the  new  outlook  as  they  had  done 
in  the  light  of  Judaism.  Comparative  religion  was 
not  an  academic  procedure  for  Paul  as  it  is  not  to- 
day for  the  wide-awake  missionary  in  China,  India, 
or  Japan  where  one  has  to  expound  his  faith  in 
terms  intelligible  to  followers  of  Buddha  or  Con- 
fucius. Paul  quickly  took  the  language  of  the 
Stoics  and  of  the  Mystery-religions  *  of  the  day 
(Mithraism  and  the  rest),  but  without  adopting  their 
ideas  or  standpoint.  He  filled  their  language  which 
they  understood  so  well  with  the  rich  content  of 
Christian  truth.  It  is  not  a  bit  surprising  to  find 
the  Apostle  John  doing  the  same  thing.  We  know 
now  that  the  Jewish  Palestinian  theology  of  the  first 
century  a.  d.  was  a  richer  thing  than  was  once  sup- 
posed to  be  true.  Hellenism  was  married  to  Juda- 
ism in  Alexandria,  but  in  Palestine  itself  not  all  the 
Jews  followed  blindly  the  scribes  in  the  letter  of  the 
law.     There  was  an  appreciable  body  of  intelligent 

*Cf.  Kennedy,   "St.  Paul  and  the    Mystery-Religions" 
(i9U). 


36  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

opinion  represented  by  the  Apocalyptists  (as  in  the 
Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  the  Book  of 
Enoch,  etc.)  that  sought  the  spirit  rather  than  the 
letter  and  hungered  for  a  higher  type  of  Messiah 
than  the  average  Pharisaic  rabbi  of  the  period.* 
But  the  disciples  of  Christ  came  to  see  that  Christ 
was  higher  and  richer  in  His  nature  and  work  than 
was  outlined  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  Paul 
himself  plainly  sets  forth  the  cosmic  relations  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  Colossians  I  :  15-17.  The  writer 
of  Hebrews  does  the  same  thing  in  Hebrews  I  :  1-3 
in  language  redolent  of  the  Alexandrian  philosophy. 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  did  sustain  relations  to  the 
universe,  and  the  Christians  early  came  to  see  it. 
Jesus  had  claimed  this  power  while  on  earth  (cf. 
Matt.  28:18).  Already  Philo  in  Alexandria  had 
taken  over  the  Stoic  doctrine  of  the  Logos  as  both 
Reason  and  Word  and  had  made  abundant  use  of 
it.  The  same  usage  had  occurred  before  him  in  the 
so-called  Wisdom  of  Solomon.  Indeed,  the  Tar- 
gums  made  free  use  of  the  Memra  (word)  as  the 
personification  of  God.  The  personification  of  Wis- 
dom is  common  in  the  wisdom  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  in  Proverbs  8  :  22-30.  Indeed,  Prof. 
J.  Rendel  Harris^  argues  that,  since  Paul  calls  Jesus 
"  The  Wisdom  of  God   and    the  Power  of  God " 

*  Cf.  Charles,  "  Religious  Development  between  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testaments  "  (1914)  ;  OesterJey,  **  Doctrinal 
Teaching  of  the  Apocrypha  "  (19 14). 

''In  The  Expositor  for  August,  September,  etc.,  1916, 
«*  The  Origin  of  the  Prologue  to  St.  John's  Gospel." 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    37 

(i  Cor.  I  :  31)  and  since  in  Luke  11  149  the  Wis- 
dom of  God  is  personified,  we  need  not  be  surprised 
at  John's  use  of  the  term  Logos.  In  fact,  he  argues 
very  plausibly  that  the  use  of  Wisdom  in  Proverbs 
8  :  22-30  was  what  suggested  John's  use  of  Logos 
in  John  I  :  1-18 :  "  The  Lord  possessed  me  (sophici) 
in  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his  works  of  old. 
I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning 
.  .  .  when  he  prepared  the  heavens  /  was  there  : 
when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of  the  deep 
.  .  .  then  /  was  by  him!'  One  need  not  follow 
Professor  Harris  in  all  his  ingenious  suggestions '  to 
see  that  there  is  a  general  parallel  of  thought  about 
Wisdom.  In  Ephesus,  where  John  probably  wrote, 
the  work  of  the  Stoic  philosopher  Heracleitus  was 
well  known.  Moffatt^  even  suggests  that  a  Stoic 
might  very  well  have  written  :  "  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Logos,  and  the  Logos  was  God."  Cer- 
tainly there  is  no  harm  in  the  world  in  thinking 
that  the  aged  Apostle,  all  alert  for  the  thought  of 
his  day  among  educated  men,  was  only  too  glad  to 
use  this  Jewish-Platonic-Stoic  term  Logos  as  a 
further  effort  to  expound  the  nature  and  mission  of 
Jesus  in  the  universe.     It  is  "  an  intellectual  form  "  ^ 

^  He  shows  also  (The  Expositor,  September,  19 16,  pp. 
166,  169)  that  Cyprian  in  his  Testimonia  not  only  calls  Christ 
the  Wisdom  and  the  Word  of  God,  but  explains  Wisdom  as 
being  the  Son. 

* "  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament," 
p.  525. 

'  Scott,  "  Historical  and  Religious  Value  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel,"  p.  40. 


38  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

of  the  Graeco-Roman  world  just  as  "  Messiah  "  be- 
longed to  the  Jewish  world,  but  with  this  difference 
that  the  Logos  idea  was  already  at  home  in  the 
Jewish  world  also.  Neither  term  is  a  complete  pre- 
sentation of  the  Person  of  Christ,  but  both  are  use- 
ful. It  is,  however,  very  difficult  to  translate  Logos 
into  English  because  of  the  double  idea  in  it  of 
Reason  and  Expression.  The  Poet  Laureate,  Rob- 
ert Bridges,  translates  these  words  in  his  new  book  * 
thus  :  ♦♦  In  the  beginning  was  mind."  That  is  cer- 
tainly possible,  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  it  is  not 
all  that  John  meant  by  the  term  as  is  made  plain  in 
I  :  i8  by  the  words:  "he  hath  declared  him."  It 
boots  little  therefore  to  try  to  find  the  "  sources  " 
of  the  Logos  idea  so  far  as  John's  Prologue  is  con- 
cerned save  as  an  historical  preparation  for  John's 
concept.  It  is  impossible  to  fit  John's  Logos  into 
that  of  Philo,  of  Plato,  or  of  Heracleitus,  though  be- 
yond a  doubt  traces  of  each  may  be  found  in  John's 
use  besides  the  term  given  to  Wisdom  in  Proverbs 
8  :  22-30.  The  "  Doctrine  of  the  Logos  "  *  cannot  be 
carried  over  bodily  into  John's  Prologue  for  he  adds 
features  of  his  own.  John  is  not  so  much  con- 
cerned with  the  abstract  philosophical  conceptions, 
though  he  does  outline  a  real  philosophy  of  religion 
in  these  verses,  as  he  deals  with  the  revelation  of 
the  nature  of  God  in  Christ  the  Logos  and  Son.^    It 

^"The  Spirit  of  Man." 

^  Cf.  Scott,  "  The  Fourth  Gospei :  Its  Purpose  and  The- 
ology," pp.  145-175. 

'  Watson,  **  Mysticism  of  St.  John's  Gospel,"  Chapter  II. 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    39 

is  true  that  John  makes  no  further  use  of  the  term 
Logos  after  he  leaves  the  Prologue,  but  that  fact 
does  not  indicate  any  change  of  purpose  on  his 
part.  In  fact  the  Logos  terminology  is  merely  em- 
ployed as  an  aid  to  John's  purpose  in  the  Prologue 
to  set  forth  in  bold  outline  the  eternal  relation  of 
the  Logos  and  the  broad  features  of  the  Incarnation. 
He  has  no  further  use  for  such  philosophical  terms 
when  he  proceeds  with  the  body  of  his  book. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  follow  the  thought  in  the 
Prologue.  We  have  first  the  personal  relations  be- 
tween the  Logos  and  God  (verses  1-2).  One  is 
reminded  of  Genesis  by  the  opening  words.  Of 
course  there  never  was  a  '•  beginning  "  with  God  or 
with  the  Logos,  but  we  use  the  term  for  all  that 
portion  of  eternity  previous  to  man's  career.  We 
have  to  fall  back  upon  Origen's  contradictory  lan- 
guage that  the  Son  is  eternally  begotten.  Father 
implies  Son  and  yet  seems  logically  to  antedate  Son. 
There  we  have  to  leave  it.  But  we  are  more  con- 
cerned with  the  phrase  "  with  God "  *  which  does 
not  have  the  customary  Greek  preposition  ^  mean- 
ing "  by  the  side  of,"  but  one  that  means  "  face  to 
face,"  ^  and  suggests  the  most  intimate  fellowship 
as  equals.  The  flat  assertion  that  "  the  Logos  was 
God"  *  has  probably  created  more  prejudice  against 
this  Gospel  than  anything  else  in  it.     But  this  is  the 

^  TTpdg  Tov  deov.  ^  napd. 

*  7:p6?,  Cf.  Robertson,  "  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New 
Testament  in  Light  of  Historical  Research,"  p.  625. 

*  Note  ;yv,  not  kyivero. 


40  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

thesis  of  the  book.  The  Pre-incarnate  state  of  the 
Logos  is  not  simply  affirmed,  but  it  is  pointedly  as- 
serted that  He  was  God  in  the  sense  that  the  Father 
is  God.*  He  repeats  his  point  before  he  goes  on. 
He  next  affirms  that  the  Logos  was  the  Agent  in 
creation  (verse  3).  He  is  the  intermediate^  Agent. 
He  says  that  not  only  •'  all,"  ^  but  every  single 
thing  ^  was  made  by  Him.  One  recalls  in  the 
Genesis  account  how  God  spoke  and  it  was  done. 
The  full  power  of  creative  activity  is  thus  claimed 
for  Jesus  on  a  par  with  the  Father.  It  is  but  a 
natural  step  to  say  in  plain  words :  "  In  him  was 
life."  The  ancient  and  more  probable  punctuation 
is  :  "  That  which  hath  been  made  was  life  in  him  " 
(verse  4).  The  creative  work  of  the  Word  (cf.  5 : 
17,  "  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I 
work")  supplied  the  proof  of  His  being  the  life  of 
the  world  which  His  personal  manifestation  in  the 
Incarnation  made  plainer  {"  I  am  the  life,"  1 1  :  25). 
John  is  fond  of  the  words  Hfe  and  light  in  connec- 
tion with  God  (cf  I  John  i  :  1-7).  Indeed,  in 
I  John  I  :  I  he  speaks  of  "  the  Word  of  life"  com- 
bining the  Logos  with  Life.  In  Revelation  19:  13 
we  find :  "  And  his  name  is  called  the  Word  of 
God."  Thus  the  use  of  the  Word  as  applied  to 
Jesus  is  one  of  the  indications  of  identical  author- 
ship for  these  books.  The  Gnostics  made  frequent 
mystical  use  of  these  terms  as  did  the  Mithraists 
and   other   followers   of  the  mystery-religions,  but 

^  By  the  use  of  6s6<^,  '  did. 

'  izdvTa.  *  oude  iv. 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    41 

John  is  not  afraid  to  take  great  words  that  were 
familiar  to  men  and  pour  into  them  the  truth  of 
Christ.  The  term  is  not  unknown  in  the  Psalms 
also  as  applied  to  God.  John's  style  here  is  not 
simply  a  mixing  of  images  when  he  says :  "  And 
the  Hfe  was  the  light  of  men."  This  is  a  good 
specimen  of  John's  style.  He  leaves  us  to  relate 
the  various  facts  stated.  "  He  is  the  Light  through 
the  medium  of  Life  "  (Westcott,  in  loco).  We  are 
familiar  with  the  properties  of  radium  and  elec- 
tricity. But  no  physical  image  can  fully  present 
the  truth  about  the  preexistent  state  and  work  of 
the  Logos,  God's  Son.  These  verses  (i-5)  are  very 
wonderful  and  rich.  The  Logos  was  the  Light  of 
men  as  a  whole  *  and  not  merely  the  Light  of  the 
Jews.  John  means,  of  course,  that  the  Word  was 
the  moral  and  spiritual  Light  of  all  men,  all  the 
real  light  that  they  had.  Verse  5  pictures  the  in- 
evitable conflict  between  light  and  darkness.  It  is 
the  mission  of  light  to  drive  away  darkness.  This 
is  a  parable  of  the  eternal  conflict  between  good 
and  evil,  between  Christ  and  Satan.  The  Tempta- 
tions of  Jesus  by  Satan  are  one  illustration  of  it,  but 
it  continues  through  the  ages  and  we  are  all  sharers 
in  the  struggle  (cf.  I  John  i)  and  must  take  sides. 
We  see  this  conflict  in  every  city  and  in  every  ham- 
let, in  politics,  in  business,  in  religion,  in  school,  in 
the  home,  and  in  every  heart.  The  light  shines  on 
in  the  darkness,  is  not  discouraged  by  the  long 
night  and  the  stubborn  and  thick  darkness.  The 
*  TcDv  dvdpwTttov.     The  article  for  class. 


42  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

light  will  win  in  the  end.  "  And  the  darkness  over- 
came it  not."  This  is  beyond  a  doubt  the  true  ren- 
dering.* We  have  the  same  idea  in  John  12 :  35, 
"  that  darkness  overtake  you  not."  ^  John  claims 
final  victory  for  Christ  in  Revelation  il  :  15. 

Verses  6-8  tell  of  the  work  of  the  Forerunner,  a 
God-sent  man,  a  real  Apostle  ^  from  God,  sent  to 
bear  witness  about  the  Light,  to  help  men  see  that 
He  is  the  true  Light  of  God,  that  all  men  may  be- 
lieve in  the  Light  by  means  of  John's  witness.  One 
may  think  at  first  that  this  was  a  needless  mission, 
for  surely  men  can  tell  light  from  darkness.  But 
this  is  precisely  what  men  cannot  do.  They  have 
poor  eyes,  so  used  to  the  darkness,  bHnded  by  sin 
and  selfish  passions,  that  false  lights  easily  lead  them 
astray  and  they  are  not  able  clearly  to  distinguish 
in  the  flickering  shadows.  Satan  knows  this  so  well 
that  he  himself  poses  as  an  angel  of  light  (2  Cor. 
II  :I4).  Indeed,  John  the  Baptist  himself  was 
taken  to  be  the  Light  in  the  very  act  of  telling  of 
the  Light  (verse  8).  It  is  small  wonder  then  that 
multitudes  fall  victims  to  every  religious  dreamer 
who  comes  along,  Buddha  or  Mahomet,  Baha  or 
Besant,  Schlatter  or  Schweinfurth,  Joseph  Smith  or 
Mary  Baker  Eddy.  The  light-bearer  must  be  sure 
that  he  bears  the  Light  of  Life  and  that  men  see 
what  they  ought  to  see.  It  will  be  shown  that  John 
was  loyal  to  the  Light. 

The  coming  of  the  Light  into  humanity  was  the 

^  ou  UaziXa^ev,  *  ha — firj  karaXd^-q. 

'  d.i:t<rxaXiiivo<i^ 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    43 

crucial  time  of  history.  This  great  era  is  broadly 
sketched  in  verses  9- 14.  The  Word  was  the  true 
light  of  every  man  even  before  the  Incarnation. 
The  Cosmic  Christ  John  has  already  set  forth  above, 
but  this  Light  was  too  dimly  perceived  to  be  really 
effective  for  the  salvation  of  men.  So  the  promise 
was  given  of  the  One  who  was  to  come  into  the 
world  (John  1 1 :  27).^  This  is  probably  the  idea  in 
1 : 9,  though  the  words  may  refer  to  "  every  man 
coming  into  the  world."  But  the  presence  of  the 
Logos  in  the  world  which  He  had  made  revealed  a 
tragedy  (verse  10).  "  The  world  knew  him  not," 
*•  did  not  recognize  him."  ^  He  was  as  much  a 
stranger  to  the  human  world  after  the  Incarnation 
as  He  was  before.  The  Light  was  blazing  in  the 
darkness  and  the  darkness  could  not  see  the  Light. 
Here  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  difficulty 
of  God  in  revealing  Himself  to  men.  The  imma- 
nence of  God  in  nature  is  as  true  as  His  transcend- 
ence over  nature.  But  how  can  the  Eternal  make 
Himself  known  to  sinful  men  ?  It  is  only  possible 
in  terms  of  personaHty,  for  men  are  persons.  But 
the  Tragedy  was  enough  to  break  the  heart  of 
Christ  as  it  did  in  the  end,  this  supreme  Tragedy 
of  the  Ages  and  of  the  Race.  At  first  it  was  a 
"  Hebrew  Tragedy "  (Conder),  for  He  came  unto 
His  own  home^  which  He  had  made  and  His  own 
people  *  did  not  take  Him  to  their  homes  and  their 


^6  el^  Tov  A'OfTfiov  ip^ofxevo^.      Cf.  also  John  6:14. 

^auTov  ah/i  eyvuj. 

^d^ra  rSta.  *oi  tdtot. 


44  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

hearts/  but  received  Him  as  a  stranger.  There 
were  some  who  did  open  their  hearts  to  Him.  To 
these  He  gave  the  right  (and  the  power  ^)  to  become 
the  spiritual,  not  merely  the  cosmic,  children  of 
God,  to  those  who  believe  on  His  name.  Thus  He 
made  faith  in  Himself  the  touchstone  to  member- 
ship in  the  family  of  God.  This  second  birth  is  of 
God.  But  the  cardinal  historical  fact  is  that  "  the 
Word  became^  flesh,  and  tabernacled^  among  us." 
The  Virgin  Birth  is  not  mentioned,  but  certainly  is 
not  denied.  It  is  rather,  I  think,  implied  by  the 
very  language  of  John  which  suggests  something 
other  than  ordinary  generation.  Indeed,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  of  a  real  Incarnation  of  God  in  any 
other  way  than  that  of  the  narratives  in  Matthew 
and  in  Luke.  "  The  eternal  and  divine  Christ 
entered  into  this  world  not  by  human  generation  " 
(W.  P.  Du  Bose,  "  Incarnation,"  Constructive  Quar- 
terly, September,  19 16,  p.  438).  The  wonder  and 
glory  of  it  all  John  and  the  rest  will  never  forget, 
for  "  we  beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of  the  only- 
begotten  from  the  Father"  (cf.  Luke  9:  32).  He 
probably  refers  to  the  Transfiguration  scene.  He 
was  "  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

The  Baptist  bore  witness  also  after  he  saw  the 
Light,  not  merely  beforehand  (verse  15).  He  put 
his  witness  in  paradoxical  form :  "  He  that  cometh 
after  me  is  become  before  me."     He  was  only  after 

^  ou  TtapiXa^ov.  '  i^oofftav.  ^kyivero^  not  ^v. 

*  i(T/CTJva}ff£v.  Pitched  his  tent  in  human  flesh.  (Cf.  2  Cor. 
5:1.) 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    45 

John  in  order  of  time  and  of  manifestation  in  human 
birth.  He  was  always  before  John  in  eternity  and 
in  eminence  and  He  always  will  be.  This  John 
saw  and  said. 

The  plenitude*  of  Christ  (cf.  the  fullness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily  in  Col.  2:9)  he  has  already  pre- 
sented, but  now  he  emphasizes  the  idea  that  we 
Christians  all  receive  some  portion  of  Christ's  grace 
and  truth  (verses  16-18).  It  is  **  grace  for^  grace," 
new  grace  to  take  the  place  of  the  old.  The  word 
Law  describes  the  Mosaic  system,  but  Christ  has 
given  us  grace  and  truth,  words  rich  and  fresh  with 
eternal  youth  and  freedom.  Grace  shows  the  love 
of  God  and  truth  the  passion  for  reality.  The 
writer  has  said  in  I  :  i  that  the  Word  was  God,  and 
in  I  :  14  that  the  Word  became  flesh.  Now  he  com- 
bines both  ideas  in  the  correct  text  of  1 :  18,  "  God 
Only-begotten."  ^  Only  the  God-man  can  fully  re- 
veal God  to  man.  He  is  God  and  He  is  man  and 
can  and  does  act  as  interpreter  of  God  to  man. 
**  He  hath  declared  him."  Jesus,  the  Logos  (Rea- 
son and  Word  of  God),  the  Incarnate  God,  Son  of 
God  and  Son  of  man,  hath  made  the  Interpretation  * 
of  God  that  man  can  read.  He  is  God's  Living 
Speech,  the  Eternal  Idea  of  God  spoken  in  flesh 
and  blood  that  men  may  see  and  hear  and  handle 

*  iA:  Tou  TzXrip(l)!xaTo<s  aorou.  He  probably  has  in  mind 
the  Gnostic  use  q'l  pleroma  for  all  the  attributes  of  God. 

*  i^Tjyijffaro.  Cf.  our  exegesis.  It  is  the  timeless  aorist 
here. 


46  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

(i  John  I :  i)  and  yet  live  and  obtain  eternal  life 
(John  20:  31)  by  loving  God  in  Christ. 

2.    The  Witness  of  the  Baptist  (i :  19-36). 

As  has  already  been  stated,  it  is  not  the  purpose 
of  this  book  to  expound  in  detail  all  the  Gospel 
of  John,  but  only  those  portions  pertinent  to  the 
Divinity  of  Christ.  As  a  matter  of  fact  this  method 
deals  with  the  heart  of  the  Gospel,  for  this  is  the 
theme  that  is  central  in  John's  thought  and  purpose. 
In  the  Prologue  he  had  spoken  of  the  Witness  of 
John  concerning  the  Light.  Now  he  proceeds  to 
tell  what  the  witness  is  (i :  19).  He  selects  first  the 
striking  incident  of  the  visit  of  the  committee  of 
Sadducees  (priests  and  Levites,  i  :  20)  appointed  by 
the  Sanhedrin  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Pharisees 
(i  :  24).  John  is  at  Bethany  beyond  Jordan  (i  :  28) 
after  the  baptism  of  Jesus  when  the  committee 
comes.  He  had  previously  denounced  the  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees  in  severe  terms  when  they  fol- 
lowed the  multitudes  from  Judea  and  Jerusalem  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  his  ministry  (Matt.  3 :  7- 10). 
It  is  a  tremendous  tribute  to  his  popular  power  that 
the  Sanhedrin  feels  called  upon  after  that  rebuke  to 
see  if  after  all  he  makes  any  Messianic  claims  for 
himself.  But  John  the  Baptist  does  not  take  it  as 
a  compliment.  He  is  greatly  perturbed  in  spirit 
that  any  one  should  so  mistake  his  spirit  and  mes- 
sage as  to  imagine  that  he  is  capable  of  such  treach- 
ery to  his  Chief.  His  disclaimer  is  vehement  and 
repeated.     He  is  not  the  Christ  nor  Elijah  (in  flesh 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    47 

and  person)  nor  the  prophet  promised  by  Moses 
(really  the  Messiah,  though  some  thought  not).  He 
is  only  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness  and  the 
darkness  of  the  night.  As  the  Forerunner  of  the 
Messiah  he  has  introduced  the  new  order  of  baptism 
which  really  treats  the  whole  nation  as  heathen  and 
calls  them  to  repentance.  "  In  the  midst  of  you 
standeth  one  whom  ye  know  not"  (i :  26)  because 
of  your  bhnded  eyes  (cf.  1 :  10  f.).  Thus  John  boldly 
announces  the  actual  arrival  of  the  Messiah  the 
latchet  of  whose  shoes  he  is  unworthy  to  unloose 
(I  :  27). 

The  committee  may  have  returned  to  Jerusalem 
with  a  puzzled  state  of  mind  at  these  wondrous 
words.  On  the  next  day  at  any  rate  John  identifies 
the  Messiah  to  those  who  are  with  him  (i  ;  29-34). 
"  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,"  he  cries  as  he  sees  Jesus  coming 
to  him.  This  is  a  call  for  the  people  to  see  the 
Light.  It  is  argued  that  the  writer  has  made  the 
Baptist  too  theological  in  this  saying  and  too  ad- 
vanced for  his  circle.  But  John's  theological  atmos- 
phere was  not  that  of  the  Pharisees  whom  he 
denounced.  He  was  a  man  of  the  hills  and  of  the 
Old  Testament.  He  was  the  son  of  a  priest.  He 
was  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  old  prophets  and 
the  first  of  the  new  age.  He  could  see  the  sacrificial 
side  of  the  servant  of  Jehovah  in  Isaiah  5  3  and  he 
knew  the  meaning  of  the  Paschal  Lamb.  So  the 
Baptist  groups  the  central  fact  in  the  work  of  the 
Messiah,  His  atoning  death  as  the  Paschal  Lamb  for 


48  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

the  sin  of  the  world.  He  did,  but  his  hearers  did 
not.  John  went  on  to  explain  the  purpose  of  his 
preaching  and  his  baptism,  to  manifest  the  Messiah 
to  Israel.  It  was  not  mere  spiritual  insight  and 
intuition  on  John's  part,  for  he  had  the  sign  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  form  of  a  dove  promised,  by 
which  sign  he  was  to  recognize  the  Messiah  when 
He  came  to  ask  baptism  at  his  hands.  He  knew 
Him  not,  certainly  not  as  the  Messiah,  till  the  in- 
stinctive recognition  when  Jesus  came  to  the  Jordan, 
probably  not  at  all,  for  John  and  Jesus  lived  far 
apart,  though  kinsmen.  He  had  seen  the  Mes- 
siah and  the  sign  came  also  and  now  John  stands 
here  to  tell  the  people  that  yonder  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah  of  promise,  the  Light  and  the  Life,  the 
Son  of  God.  "  I  have  seen,  and  have  borne  witness 
that  this  is  the  Son  of  God  "  (i  :  34).*  The  testi- 
mony of  the  Baptist  to  the  Deity  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
thus  clear  and  explicit.  But  John  repeated  his 
witness  on  the  day  following  (i  :  35  f.).  He  looked 
on  Jesus  as  He  walked  and  in  his  emotion  could 
only  say :  *'  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God."  But  he 
had  two  disciples  with  him  who  heard  this  repeated 
testimony.  Jesus  went  His  way  and  John  never 
saw  Him  again,  but  he  had  borne  his  witness. 

3.     The  First  Group  of  Disciples  (i:  37-51). 
One   of    these   two    disciples    was    Andrew   the 
brother  of  Simon  (i  :  40)  and  the  other  was  probably 

*  Note   the   perfect  tenses  idipaka^  kai  ixefiapTvpT,Ra.     It 
is  John's  settled  conviction. 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    49 

John  the  brother  of  James,  though  that  inference  is 
not  stated  by  the  correct  text  of  1 :  41  "  findeth 
first."  *  We  are  not  to  think  that  Jesus,  though 
God's  Only-begotten  Son  and  in  reality  God  Only- 
begotten,  looked  to  those  who  saw  Him  other 
than  man,  for  His  flesh  was  a  veil  to  conceal  His 
deity  (Heb.  io:20)  as  well  as  the  Image  of  the 
Father  whom  men  should  see  in  Christ  (Heb.  1:3; 
John  14:9).  There  was  no  "  posing  "  as  God  on 
the  part  of  Jesus,  no  striking  of  attitudes  and  de- 
manding worship  from  those  who  came  near  Him. 
We  need  not  trouble  ourselves  over  the  term  "  the 
Son  of  God "  used  by  the  Baptist  nor  how  much 
that  meant  to  Andrew  and  John  as  they  went  to 
spend  the  first  of  many  wonderful  days  with  Jesus 
(i  :  39).  We  are  not  told  anything  that  passed  be- 
tween them,  but  the  result  spoke  for  itself.  Andrew 
could  stand  it  no  longer.  "  He  findeth  first  his 
own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him.  We  have 
found  the  Messiah."  ^  That  was  a  startling  message, 
but  Andrew  did  not  stop  with  that.  He  brought 
Simon  to  Jesus,  face  to  face  with^  Jesus.  John 
seems  to  have  brought  James  also.  The  Light  is 
beginning  to  shine.  Some  are  coming  into  the 
kingdom. 

Now  Jesus  Himself  finds  Philip  who  in  turn  wins 

*  TzpwTov,  not  7:pa)T0<^. 

'  Eopyjkajxsv  rov  Meffcriav.  We  need  not  discuss  the  con- 
tent of  the  term  Messiah  in  Andrew's  mouth.  The  Jews 
differed  much  themselves  about  it.  Some  assigned  divine 
attributes  to  the  Messiah,  but  only  in  a  vague  way. 


50  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Nathanael  (1:43-51).  Nathanael  is  sceptical  and 
cautious.  "  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Naza- 
reth ?  "  What  a  chance  for  a  debate  and  a  wrangle ! 
Nathanael  is  prejudiced  against  Jesus  because  of 
town  pride  which  is  as  good  a  ground  as  many- 
critics  of  Jesus  have  to-day.  Philip  refused  to  argue 
the  point  and  drew  Nathanael  to  the  fellowship  of 
Jesus.  This  he  could  not  well  refuse.  Once  there 
Jesus  paid  Nathanael  the  most  delicate  compliment, 
for  he  was  a  rare  spirit,  as  is  often  true  of  the  young 
men  and  women  with  doubts  and  fears.  The  sur- 
prising insight  of  Jesus  completely  won  Nathanael 
who  threw  away  his  doubts  and  cried ;  *'  Rabbi, 
thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  thou  art  the  King  of 
Israel  "  (i :  49).  He  may  have  heard  the  words  of 
the  Baptist  about  Jesus  (i  :  34)  and  now  confesses 
fully  both  the  Messiahship  (King  of  Israel)  and  the 
Deity  of  Jesus.  Nathanael  is  a  true  Israelite  when 
he  reveals  this  spiritual  insight  and  quickness  of 
apprehension.  The  heart  of  Jesus  is  comforted  by 
Nathanael's  words,  for  a  beginning  has  been  made. 
Six  men,  probably  all  from  the  circle  of  the  Baptist's 
disciples,  have  come  out  boldly  for  Him  as  the 
Messiah  the  Son  of  God.  But  better  things  are 
coming.  This  has  been  a  Bethel  to  Jesus  and  like 
Jacob  of  old  (Gen.  28 :  12)  He  sees  a  vision  of  the 
future  work  of  the  Kingdom :  "  Ye  shall  see  the 
heaven  opened,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  man"  (1:51). 
Jesus  here  calls  Himself  the  Son  of  man,  a  term 
applied  to  the  Messiah  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  but 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    51 

Christ  seems  to  have  chosen  it  Himself,  for  it  makes 
a  Messianic  claim  in  veiled  language  and  thus 
avoided  technical  legal  difficulties  incident  to  the 
use  of  Messiah,  as  we  shall  see.  Besides,  it  pre- 
sents Jesus  as  the  Representative  man  of  the  race 
as  He  is.  It  is  as  the  Son  of  man,  the  Mediator 
between  God  and  man,  that  He  is  able  to  be  a 
"  Jacob's  ladder  "  for  heaven  and  earth  to  meet  in 
Him.  The  heavens  are  open  to  Christ  Jesus  and 
men  draw  near  to  Him  and  in  Christ  can  look  into 
heaven.  Westcott  (Vol.  I,  p.  79)  makes  a  list  of 
the  confessions  of  Christ  made  by  the  successive 
men  and  women  who  come  under  His  power  in  the 
Gospel  of  John.  The  high  confession  of  the  Baptist 
we  have  seen,  and  of  Andrew,  of  Philip,  of  Na- 
thanael,  and  now  we  have  the  claim  of  Jesus  Himself. 
If  one  is  surprised  that  Nathanael  should  use  the 
words  "  the  Son  of  God,"  he  must  recall  that  the 
Baptist  heard  the  Father  call  Jesus  "  My  Beloved 
Son"  at  the  baptism  (Matt.  3:  17)  and  Nathanael 
probably  heard  the  Baptist's  testimony  (i  :  34)  as 
already  stated. 

4.     The  First  Display  of  Power  (2  :  i-ii). 

In  the  Prologue  John  in  broad  outline  presents 
his  conception  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God  entering 
humanity  as  the  Expression  of  God  to  reveal  the 
Father  to  men.  Then  follows  the  witness  of  the 
Baptist  to  the  fact  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God. 
Next  comes  the  discovery  of  the  first  band  of  be- 
lievers that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God  as 


52  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

shown  by  the  words  of  Andrew,  Philip,  and  Na- 
thanael,  and  Christ's  own  claim  about  Himself.  It 
is  objected  by  some  modern  critics  that  John's 
Gospel  is  unhistorical  in  this  presentation  of  the 
claims  of  Jesus,  since  according  to  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  Jesus  conceals  the  fact  that  He  is  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  till  the  latter  part  of  His 
ministry  and  even  then  warns  the  disciples  not  to  tell 
what  they  have  found  out  (Matt.  i6 :  13-20).  But 
on  closer  examination  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  one 
notes  that  they  give  also  the  early  presentation  of 
Jesus  as  the  Messiah  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  seen 
in  the  words  of  the  Father  at  the  baptism  of  Jesus 
(Matt.  3:17;  Mark  i  :  1 1  ;  Luke  3  :  22)  and  in  the 
temptation  of  Jesus  (Matt.  4:3;  Luke  4  :  3)  and  in 
various  other  ways  as  in  the  exclamation  of  the 
healed  demoniacs,  and  the  growing  appreciation  of 
the  disciples  and  the  people.  It  is,  besides,  per- 
fectly natural  that  in  the  first  year  of  the  public 
ministry  which  the  Synoptics  omit  save  the  baptism 
and  temptation,  when  He  is  recognized  as  Messiah, 
there  should  be  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  as  Mes- 
siah in  the  first  glow  of  enthusiasm  till  it  was  seen 
that  the  Pharisees  were  jealous  and  hostile  when 
caution  made  it  wise  to  omit  the  term  Messiah  so 
as  to  avoid  the  technical  charge  of  blasphemy 
(cf.  John  4  :  1-4  ;  Luke  3:19  f.).  Indeed,  the  Gospel 
of  John  itself,  which  gives  the  early  claims  and  as- 
criptions of  Messiahship,  shows  most  clearly  of  all 
the  avoidance  of  the  term  Messiah  on  the  part  of 
Jesus   in   this   later   ministry  (John  8-10).     Here, 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    53 

then,  this  Gospel,  supplementing  the  Synoptics  in 
the  early  ministry,  gives  the  touch  of  life  which  is 
needed  to  fill  out  the  story. 

Now  comes  the  first  display  of  power  on  the  part 
of  Jesus,  already  hailed  as  Messiah  and  Son  of  God, 
to  show  that  He  acts  like  God.  The  devil  had 
suggested  that  Jesus  turn  the  stone  into  bread  to 
prove  that  He  is  a  Son  of  God  (Luke  4 :  3).  But 
Jesus  needed  no  such  proof.  He  had  known  this 
mystery  for  long,  how  long  we  do  not  know,  for 
He  has  had  clear  Messianic  consciousness  of  this 
peculiar  sonship  since  He  was  twelve  years  old 
(Luke  2  :  51).  The  mother  of  Jesus  does  not  need 
the  miracle  to  convince  her  of  the  nature  and  mis- 
sion of  her  wondrous  Son.  She  had  carried  His 
secret  in  her  heart  all  these  years  (Luke  2  :  19). 
But  the  little  band  of  disciples  (probably  six  in  all) 
did  need  confirmation  of  their  new  faith  in  Jesus 
as  the  Messiah  of  Israel.  It  was  all  so  new  and 
strange  to  them.  The  protest  of  Jesus  to  His 
mother  was  not  an  outburst  of  impatience  with  her, 
but  a  declaration  of  independence  on  His  part,  for 
His  Messianic  activity  lay  outside  of  her  control. 
He  had  gladly  been  subject  to  her  and  to  Joseph 
(Luke  2:51),  but  now  He  must  follow  the  path 
that  His  heavenly  Father  showed  in  His  great  task. 
The  language  of  Jesus  probably  means  :  "  What 
does  it  matter  to  you  and  me  ? "  It  is  like  our 
"  Never  mind."  *  But  Mary  had  a  woman's  and 
a  mother's  instincts  and  saw  beneath  the  form  of 


54  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

the  words  and  bade  the  servants  to  follow  the 
directions  of  Jesus.  It  is  useless  to  quibble  over 
the  miracle  of  turning  the  water  into  wine,  this  first 
miracle  wrought  by  Jesus,  and  a  nature  miracle  at 
that.  If  we  have  come  thus  far  in  John's  Gospel 
with  any  kind  of  sympathy  and  assent,  we  can 
easily  go  the  whole  way.  I  am  assuming  that  the 
readers  of  my  book  have  made  up  their  minds  about 
God  and  Christ  and  the  world.  I  am  not  advocat- 
ing obscurantism  in  any  sphere,  but  just  the  op- 
posite. I  may  say  frankly  that  I  am  not  antago- 
nistic to  evolution  as  a  process  used  by  God  in  the 
creation  of  the  universe.  I  am  not  sure  that  the 
evolutionary  hypothesis  has  been  proved,  but  I  do 
not  object  in  the  least  if  it  should  be.  I  have  no 
fear  that  science  will  again  become  materialistic  as 
it  once  threatened  to  do.  It  is  nothing  like  so 
negative  and  agnostic  as  it  once  was.  Modern 
scientists,  barring  Haeckel,  are  becoming  decidedly 
spiritualistic  in  outlook  and  open  advocates  of  the 
supremacy  of  mind  over  matter.  If  we  really  be- 
lieve that,  there  is  little  to  bother  over  further  save 
questions  of  fact.  If  God  created  and  is  creating, 
why  trouble  about  the  present  activity  of  God  ? 
If  Jesus  is  God,  why  deny  to  Him  the  power  of 
God  ?  What  we  call  a  nature  miracle  differs  no 
whit  from  any  other  save  that  we  are  more  familiar 
with  the  impact  of  mind  on  mind,  though  we  recog- 
nize clearly  the  power  of  mind  over  matter  in  our 
own  bodies.  The  Gospel  of  John  represents  Jesus 
as  justifying  His  miraculous  power  on  the  score  of 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    55 

the  continuous  activity  of  His  Father  (John  5  :  17). 
The  notion  of  an  absentee  God  who  cannot  touch 
the  work  of  His  own  hands  with  His  own  will  for 
fear  of  upsetting  His  own  laws  is  puerile.  We  are 
not  to  think  of  God  as  whimsical,  but  as  personal 
and  as  supreme  in  every  realm,  supreme  even  over 
the  laws  of  nature  which  are  simply  the  orderly  ex- 
pression of  His  own  will.  These  laws  are  meant 
for  our  protection  and  blessing  and  they  are  so. 
But  it  is  unscientific  and  unhistorical  to  say  that 
God  cannot  do  this  or  that  unless  the  thing  con- 
tradicts God's  own  nature.  For  instance,  God  can- 
not lie. 

This  first  miracle  of  power  over  inanimate  nature 
at  Cana  of  Galilee  "  manifested  his  glory  "  as  it  was 
meant  to  do.  It  served  immediate  need,  to  be  sure, 
but  it  "  made  plain  "  *  the  glory  of  Jesus  as  the  Son 
of  God  in  accordance  with  His  claims  and  the  faith 
of  the  disciples  who  "  believed  on  him  "  afresh  and 
more  deeply  because  of  this  surprising  display  of 
creative  activity.     Faith  was  helped  by  sight. 

5.  The  First  Clash  with  the  Jerusalem  Au- 
thorities (2  :  12-22). 

The  first  impression  that  one  gets  from  this  vivid 
incident  in  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem  is  that  of  the 
feeling  of  Jesus  Himself.  The  Synoptics  give  a 
similar  account  at  the  close  of  the  ministry  (Matt. 
21  :  12  f. ;  Mark  11 :  15-18;  Luke  19:  45-48),  which 
is  entirely  possible  and  reasonable  as  a  last  protest 


56  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

against  the  desecration  of  the  Temple  by  the  money 
traffic  allowed  by  the  ecclesiastical  grafters.  That 
story  in  no  way  contradicts  or  makes  incredible  this 
one  at  the  start.  Indeed,  if  the  thing  could  only 
happen  once,  it  is  easier  to  understand  it  at  this 
juncture,  when  for  the  first  time  Jesus,  conscious  of 
Messianic  authority,  meets  the  abuses  in  His  Father's 
house.  He  is  doubtless  well  aware  that  his  words 
and  deeds  mean  the  assertion  of  authority  over  the 
Temple  worship  in  opposition  to  the  official  eccle- 
siastics only  sufferable  in  case  the  usurper  should  be 
the  Messiah  Himself.  Certainly  Jesus  did  not  look 
to  be  that  as  He  came  in  the  garb  of  a  labourer 
with  a  whip  of  cords  in  His  hand.  There  was,  in- 
deed, a  strange  majesty  of  mien,  that  swept  all  before 
Him,  but  the  Jews  soon  ralHed  on  the  outside  and 
clamoured  for  a  "  sign  "  in  proof  of  His  right  to  do 
such  deeds  (John  2  :  i8).  Perhaps  they  meant  that, 
as  He  had  no  •'  paper  "  as  a  token  of  legal  power. 
He  should  give  some  heavenly  attestation  since  He 
claimed  a  peculiar  relation  to  God.  The  reply  of 
Jesus  was  not  understood  by  foe  or  friend,  but  was 
remembered  in  garbled  form  against  Him  till  His 
trial.  Jesus  is  here  presented  as  conscious  of  His 
death  which  is  foreshadowed  by  this  hostile  attitude 
of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  on  this  first  appear- 
ance of  the  Messiah  in  Jerusalem.  Jesus  means 
also  that  His  resurrection  shall  be  the  final  proof  of 
His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah  the  Son  of  God.  It  is 
clear  that  this  attitude  of  Jesus  is  quite  other  than, 
that  of  modern  critics  who  say  that  Jesus  did  not 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    57 

mean  to  make  any  issue  with  the  authorities  and 
only  gradually  came  to  feel  that  He  was  a  possible 
Messiah  and  did  not  expect  death  as  a  means 
of  redemption  from  sin.  The  trouble  about  that 
view  is  that  it  is  opposed  by  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
(and  even  by  Q)  as  strongly  as  by  the  Gospel 
of  John.  In  the  temptation  there  is  presented 
the  shadow  of  the  Cross  and  that  is  before 
the  incident  in  John  2.  In  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
the  death  of  Christ  is  soon  plain  in  the  background. 
The  Gospel  of  John  cannot  be  understood  unless 
one  is  willing  to  see  that  Jesus  from  the  start  sees 
the  path  which  He  is  to  tread.  Nor  can  the  Sy- 
noptics properly  be  made  to  mean  anything  else. 

6.     The  Rush  of  the  Crowd  (2  :  23-25). 

Jesus  would  not  work  a  "  sign  "  at  the  demand 
of  the  ecclesiastics  (cf.  His  like  refusal  to  the  devil), 
but  He  did  perform  a  number  in  Jerusalem  which 
many  beheld  and,  as  a  result,  many  "  believed  " '  on 
Him  probably  as  the  Messiah,  but  certainly  in  a 
very  superficial  way,  for  Jesus  distrusted  their  pro- 
fession of  faith.  There  were  always  great  crowds 
of  Jews  from  all  sections  at  the  passover  (John  2:23). 
There  are  always  many  who  are  caught  in  the  cur- 
rent and  borne  along  with  any  new  popular  move- 
ment without  clearness  of  ideas  or  depth  of  con- 
viction. Fortunately  Jesus,  as  the  Son  of  God,  had 
the  power  to  read  aright  the  hearts  of  men  and  so 
to  guard  His  mission  from  these  effervescent  be- 

*  Cf.  kniaTsoffav  with  ovfc  iniaTeosv, 


58  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

lievers.  "  He  himself  knew  what  was  in  man,"  not 
only  in  one  man  or  in  these  men,  but  in  all  men,  in 
the  race.*  Here  we  are  given  an  instance  of  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  as  God,  no  mere  mind  reading 
or  telepathy,  but  the  full  insight  into  the  human 
heart.  Missionaries  in  heathen  lands  have  to  guard 
constantly  against  the  rush  of  people  after  novelty 
as  well  as  against  the  bread  and  butter  brigade 
(cf.  John  6). 

7.    The  Secrecy  of  Nicodemus  the  Pharisee 

(3  ••  1-21). 

Nicodemus  had  likewise  noticed  the  "  signs  "  of 

Jesus  (3  :  2)  and  had  reflected  on  the  consequences 
of  these  miracles  in  connection  with  the  teaching 
and  claims  of  Jesus.  But  he  was  not  like  the  un- 
thinking crowd  who  were  swept  off  of  their  feet  by 
John  or  Jesus  or  Barcochba  or  any  other  new- 
comer. He  was  a  scholar,  a  theologian,  a  teacher, 
a  Pharisee,  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin,  and,  as  a 
man  of  importance  and  standing,  owed  it  to  him- 
self to  proceed  with  due  caution  so  as  to  make  no 
mistake  and  avoid  needless  talk  among  his  asso- 
ciates. All  the  city  was  agog  over  the  Nazarene, 
and  it  was  not  easy  to  manage.  So  he  sought  a 
visit  by  night  to  the  tent  of  the  new  and  irregular 
rabbi  on  the  hills  near  Jerusalem.  Jesus  is  thus  face 
to  face  with  one  of  the  leading  scholars  of  current 

'  iv  T(J)  dvOpwTcw,  The  generic  use  avOjnwTzo?  and  the  class 
use  of  the  article.  Mr.  E.  S.  Buchanon  reports  a  Spanish 
manuscript  as  reading :  **  For  He,  being  God,  knew  what 
men  were." 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    59 

Pharisaism,  who  is  seeking  further  hght  concerning 
the  claims  and  message  of  Jesus  Himself.  It  is  no- 
torious that  scholars  are  the  most  difficult  men  to 
teach  because  they  know  so  much  already.  In  the 
case  of  Nicodemus,  he  had  his  own  theology  con- 
cerning the  Messiah  and  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and 
it  was  clear  that  Jesus  did  not  fit  into  his  theories,  and 
yet  he  was  fascinated  by  Jesus.  The  effort  of  Jesus 
is  a  kindly  and  gracious  way  of  enabling  Nicodemus 
to  understand  the  new  view-point.  He  sees  into 
the  mind  of  Nicodemus  and  may  have  read  the 
Pharisaic  books/  for  He  shows  always  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  defects  of  Pharisaic  theology 
and  practice.  The  new  birth,  which  so  puzzled 
Nicodemus,  is  the  door  into  the  real  Kingdom  of 
God  which  is  spiritual.  Nicodemus  is  a  tragic  in- 
stance of  the  preacher  or  teacher  of  heavenly  things 
who  has  no  personal  experience  behind  his  words 
and  merely  repeats  logical  conclusions  or  the 
parrot-like  repetition  of  sentences  which  he  has 
been  taught.  Jesus  shows  him  his  ignorance  of  the 
elements  of  true  religion  and  opens  the  door  into 
the  purposes  of  God  in  heaven,  the  great  theological 
problems  that  concern  God's  redemptive  love.  The 
true  text  in  verse  13  mystifies  Nicodemus  still  more, 
for  it  says  that  the  Son  of  man  who  descended  out 
of  heaven  (the  Incarnation)  "  is  in  heaven  "  even 
now  while  he  speaks  to  Him.  Jesus  also  tells 
Nicodemus  of  the  death  of  the  Son  of  man,  lifted 

^  Cf.   Thomson,   "  Books  Which   Have  Influenced  Our 
Lord." 


60  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

up  like  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness  that  any  one 
may  have  eternal  life  by  beHeving  on  Him  (3 :  14  f.). 
It  is  not  certain  whether  verses  16-21  are  the  words 
of  Christ  to  Nicodemus,  as  is  probable,  or  the  re- 
flections of  the  evangelist  on  the  interview.  But,  in 
either  case,  it  is  a  clear  announcement  that  Jesus  is 
the  only  begotten  *  Son  of  God,  sent  into  the  world 
because  of  God's  love  to  save  the  world.  There  is 
nothing  in  this  wonderful  "  Little  Gospel"  (John 
3:16)  that  Jesus  could  not  have  said  at  this  time  to 
Nicodemus.  It  is  all  involved  in  what  has  preceded. 
So  then  the  deity  of  Jesus  is  presented  to  Nicode- 
mus, but  we  are  not  told  how  he  received  it,  for  his 
own  querulous  doubts  were  no  longer  expressed, 
but  gave  way  to  silence.  Certainly  a  deep  im- 
pression was  made  upon  him  by  Jesus,  and  he  will 
later  openly  champion  His  cause  (John  y :  ^o; 
19 :  39),  though  we  do  not  know  when  he  acknowl- 
edged to  himself  that  he  was  a  secret  disciple  of 
Jesus.     But  the  timid  scholar  was  won  to  Christ. 

8.    Rivalling  the  Baptist  (3  :  22-36). 

Jesus  is  now  out  of  Jerusalem,  but  still  busy  in 
Judea  and  making  a  tremendous  sensation  as  He 
had  down  in  the  city  of  His  fathers.  John  the  Bap- 
tist had  kept  on  with  his  work  as  was  best  to  avoid 
the  appearance  of  pique  at  the  success  of  the  Mes- 
siah whose  Forerunner  he  was.  John  went  on  up  to 
-^non  near  to  Salim  in  Samaria  where  the  abun- 
dance of  water  served  the  purpose  of  baptizing  as  well 

^  3  :  1 8,  rod  fiovoyevou^  uloo.     Cf.  I  :  18, 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    61 

as  the  Jordan  had  done.  We  had  seen  him  last  at 
Bethany  in  Perea.  But  the  very  success  of  Jesus 
raised  questionings  in  the  minds  of  some  of  John's 
followers  who  sought  to  stir  up  jealousy  in  his  heart 
towards  Jesus  and  even  blamed  John  for  having  borne 
witness  to  Him  (3  :  26).  Nothing  in  John's  life  is 
nobler  than  the  way  in  which  he  spurned  this  subtle 
temptation.'  He  repeated  his  denial  of  any  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah  himself,  as  whom  he  had  joyfully 
hailed  Jesus.  For  himself  he  was  content  and  glad 
to  be  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  rejoicing  at  the 
music  of  His  words.  Besides,  he  saw  clearly  that 
he,  like  the  morning  star,  was  to  fade  before  the  Sun 
who  was  now  filling  the  horizon  with  His  glory. 
Verses  31-35  may  be  the  further  words  of  the  Bap- 
tist or  the  meditation  of  the  evangelist  on  the  inci- 
dent. But  here  again  Jesus  is  pictured  as  the  Son 
of  God,  belief  in  whom  brings  eternal  life. 

9.  The  Samaritan  Welcome  to  the  Messiah 
(4 : 1-42). 

Jesus  succeeded  only  too  well  in  Judea  and  finally 
had  to  leave  for  Galilee  unless  He  were  willing  to 
bring  things  to  an  issue  with  the  Pharisees  at  once. 
John  the  Baptist  had  already  been  shut  up  in  prison 
in  Machaerus  by  Herod  Antipas  (Luke  3  :  19  f.)  for 
his  bold  denunciation  of  the  marriage  with  Herodias, 
both  of  them  having  divorced  their  spouses  for  the 
purpose,  like  some  modern  marriages.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  the  Pharisees  had  somehow  inveigled  John 

*  Cf.  Robertson,  "John  the  Loyal,"  Chapter  VII. 


62  THE  DIYIOTTY  OF  CHEIST 

into  the  clutches  of  Herodias.  The  Pharisees  are 
now  jealous  of  Jesus  and  so  He  goes  north  through 
Samaria  (4 :  I-4).  The  Samaritans  did  not  object 
if  travellers  passed  out  of  Judea  through  Samaria, 
only  if  they  went  towards  Judea.  The  ministry  of 
Jesus  in  Samaria  is  only  an  incident  by  the  way  as 
He  went  back  to  Galilee.  The  disciples  evidently 
did  not  expect  it,  for  they  exhibit  surprise  that  Jesus, 
a  rabbi,  should  speak  to  a  Samaritan  and  in  public 
with  a  woman  (4 :  27),  contrary  to  Jewish  customs 
and  prejudices.  The  woman  herself  had  expressed 
like  surprise  (4 :  9)  and  note  also  the  evangelist's 
parenthetical  explanation  of  the  hostility  between 
the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans.  Jesus  was  a  Jew  in 
His  human  birth,  but  He  was  the  Son  of  man  in 
reality  and  in  His  sympathy  and  outlook.  He  even 
piqued  her  curiosity  about  the  living  water  which 
He  could  give  for  the  asking.  So  he  had  no  hesi- 
tation about  revealing  Himself  to  this  wicked  Sa- 
maritan woman  as  the  Messiah  expected  alike  by 
Jew  and  Samaritan  (4 :  25),  though  He  expressly 
asserted  that  salvation  is  of  the  Jews  (4 :  22)  and  so 
took  the  Jewish  side  in  the  famous  controversy. 
But  Jesus  is  keen  to  show  also  that  God  is  spirit  and 
to  be  worshipped  by  our  spirits  and  that  His  wor- 
ship is  independent  of  temple  or  mountain.  The 
conversion  of  this  woman  brought  rare  joy  to  the 
soul  of  Jesus  and  showed  that  His  kingdom  would 
be  cosmopolitan  in  fact  (4 :  27-38).  Every  soul- 
winner  knows  how  to  appreciate  the  joy  of  Jesus 
here  in  saving  this  soul  from  ruin.     The  Samaritans 


MANIFESTATION  OF  THE  MESSIAH    63 

who  are  won  to  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  by  this  woman's 
zeal  proclaim  Him  as  "  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  "  (4  :  39-42)/  It  was  easy  for  them  to  make 
the  world-wide  application  of  His  mission  so  as  to 
include  themselves.  Progress  is  thus  made  in  the 
reception  of  Jesus  not  only  as  the  Messiah  of  Israel, 
but  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  that  is,  of  men  of  all 
races  and  ages.  He  is  no  local,  or  national,  or  racial 
Redeemer,  but  the  one  and  only  Saviour  for  all 
time. 

10.    The  Welcome  in  Galilee  (4 :  43-54). 

The  very  popularity  of  Jesus  had  led  Him  to  leave 
Judea  because  of  the  jealousy  of  the  Pharisees.  A 
prophet,  as  a  rule,  had  no  honour  in  his  own  country. 
Hence  it  seemed  safe  for  Jesus  to  go  back  to  Gali- 
lee, His  home  land.  But  an  element  of  surprise 
awaits  Him  there,  for  the  Galileans,  who  had  heard 
Him  and  seen  His  signs  in  Jerusalem  at  the  pass- 
over,  had  brought  the  great  news  back  with  them 
to  Galilee.  Hence  the  fame  of  Jesus  in  Jerusalem 
made  Him  known  in  Galilee  before  He  came  to 
Cana  again  where  His  first  miracle  was  wrought.  It 
is  to  be  noted  that  the  Gospel  of  John,  though 
written  primarily  to  prove  the  deity  of  Christ,  has 
no  hesitation  in  recording  instances  of  the  limita- 
tions of  Jesus  because  of  His  humanity.  Indeed, 
one  may  say  that  the  writer  takes  pains  to  show  the 
reahty  of  His  humanity  against  the  Docetic  Gnostics 
who  denied   it.     For  instance,  note  the  weariness 

^diX7jda><^  6  ffwTTjp  TOO  kofffiou. 


64  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

of  Jesus  at  Jacob's  well  (4  :  6),  His  hunger  and  thirst, 
and  His  joy  at  the  woman's  conversion.  So  here 
we  have  the  apparent  surprise  of  Jesus  at  His  wel- 
come in  Galilee  as  later  we  have  His  emotion  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  and  the  reality  of  His  blood  at  His 
death.  In  the  Gospel  of  John  the  humanity  of  Jesus 
is  just  as  actual  as  His  deity.  Westcott  notes  that  in 
the  First  Epistle  of  John  the  deity  of  Christ  is  as- 
sumed and  His  humanity  is  proven,  just  the  reverse 
of  the  situation  in  the  Gospel  of  John.  The  writer 
makes  no  effort  to  explain  how  these  things  can  be, 
but  modern  science  has  revived  our  sense  of  wonder 
and  we  are  not  so  sceptical  of  what  we  cannot  un- 
derstand or  explain.  We  do  not  understand  either 
the  nature  of  man  (as  spirit  and  matter)  or  the  na- 
ture of  God  (as  infinite).  There  is  small  surprise 
that  the  combination  puzzles  our  intellect  sorely. 
But  our  intellects  have  so  many  limitations  that  we 
are  learning  modesty  in  the  use  of  them.  The  con- 
duct of  the  nobleman^  of  Capernaum  is  one  illustra- 
tion of  the  enthusiasm  in  Galilee  towards  Jesus  at 
this  early  stage  of  His  work  there.  Jesus  (4  :  48) 
does  not  wish  to  minister  to  popular  excitement  as 
a  mere  miracle-monger,  but  the  man's  evident  sin- 
cerity wins  the  day.  Galilee  is  apparently  ripe  for 
receiving  Jesus  as  Messiah.  The  work  seems  to  be 
hastening  on  all  sides. 

^  Iia(7dik6<;.     An  attendant  at  court,  possibly  at  the  court  01 
Herod  Antipas. 


Ill 

THE  GROWING  HATRED  OF  JESUS 
(Chapters  5-1 1) 

"  /  have  believed  that  thou  art  the  Christy 
the  Son  of  God!' 

THE  increasing  revelation  of  Himself  as  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  growing 
recognition  of  the  claims  of  Jesus  rapidly 
increased  the  hostility  of  the  ecclesiastics  in  Jerusa- 
lem. In  particular  the  Pharisees  were  enraged  at 
the  power  of  Jesus  with  the  people,  for  He  seemed 
the  antithesis  of  all  their  hopes  and  plans.  We  do 
not  know  the  precise  length  of  time  covered  by 
chapters  5-1 1  in  John's  Gospel.  It  was  certainly 
two  years  because  of  the  three  passovers  in  2  :  22  ; 
6 :  4  and  12  :  i.  If  the  feast  in  John  5  :  I  is  a  pass- 
over,  or  if  there  is  an  unmentioned  passover,  then 
we  have  three  years.  At  any  rate  John  selects  here 
what  he  considers  the  crucial  events  in  the  unfold- 
ing of  Christ's  mission  in  addition  to  those  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels,  having  only  one  miracle  contained 
there  (John  6 :  i-i  5).  The  scene  of  the  events  given 
by  John  oscillates  between  Jerusalem  and  Galilee, 
though  mostly  in  Jerusalem. 

I.    The  Claim  of  Equality  with  God  (Chap.  5). 
As  Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem  on  purpose  to  at- 
tend this  feast,  it  was  probably  passover,  pentecost, 

6s 


66  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

or  tabernacles.  The  healing  of  the  impotent  man  by 
the  Pool  of  Bethesda  might  have  been  passed  by  if  it 
had  not  taken  place  on  the  Sabbath  (5  :  9)  and 
if  also  the  healed  man  had  not  carried  his  pallet 
(bed)  on  the  Sabbath  as  Jesus  had  directed  him. 
He  seems  to  be  a  rather  ingenuous  sort  of  a  fellow 
and  did  not  even  know  who  it  was  that  had  healed 
him  and  had  bidden  him  violate  the  Pharisaic  rules 
concerning  the  Sabbath.  They  probably  had  their 
suspicions  as  to  who  the  man  was  who  had  thus  de- 
fied them  right  in  Jerusalem  by  the  Temple.  They 
evidently  made  the  healed  man  feel  quite  uncom- 
fortable, for,  as  soon  as  he  saw  Jesus  again  and 
learned  His  name,  with  curious  ingratitude  he  ran 
and  told  the  Pharisees  so  as  to  throw  all  the  blame 
on  his  benefactor.  This  fellow's  infirmity  was  due 
to  personal  sin,  but  he  apparently  did  not  heed  the 
warning  of  Jesus  (5  :  14)  if  one  may  judge  by  his 
conduct.  He  showed  no  sign  of  a  new  heart  and 
hfe.  The  heaUng  of  the  body  did  not  mean  the 
healing  of  the  soul.  He  was  slow-witted  at  any 
rate.  But  he  drops  out  of  sight  and  the  Phari- 
sees (the  Jews)  turn  their  attention  to  Jesus,  the 
cause  of  the  trouble.  They  were  used  by  now  to 
the  fact  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  which  they  had 
already  begun  to  ascribe  to  the  prince  of  the  de- 
mons who  worked  through  Jesus  (Matt.  9 :  34). 
So  they  '•  began  to  persecute  *  Jesus  because  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  doing  ^  these  things  on  the  Sab- 

^  kdiioftov.     Inchoative  imperfect. 
'  iizoisi.     Customary  action. 


THE  GEO  WING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     67 

bath  "  (5  ;  1 6).  The  Sabbath  controversy  grew  very- 
keen  for  the  Pharisees  now  hated  Jesus  very  much. 
His  defense  angered  them  more  than  the  offense : 
*'  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now  and  I  work." 
This  claim  of  equality  with  the  Father  and  the  cor- 
responding right  to  work  on  the  Sabbath  as  God 
continues  His  creative  activity  did  not  escape  the 
notice  of  His  enemies.  They  "  sought  the  more  '  to 
kill  him"  (5:  i8),  having  already  had  murder  in 
their  hearts.  Religious  persecutors  are  usually  men 
of  strong  convictions  of  their  own  orthodoxy  and 
infaUibility,  but  with  weak  ethical  principles.  These 
men  felt  evidently  that  they  were  the  champions  of 
God  against  a  Sabbath-breaker  and  a  blasphemer 
who  happened,  however,  to  be  the  Son  of  God 
Himself  and  who  was  in  reality  doing  the  very  will 
of  God.  So  they  pressed  against  Jesus  **  because 
he  not  only  brake  ^  the  Sabbath,  but  also  called 
God  his  own^  Father,  making  himself  equal*  with 
God  "(5:  1 8). 

Certainly  Jesus  is  fully  aware  of  the  serious  na- 
ture of  the  charge.  He  has  evidently  meant  for 
them  to  see  what  He  really  claims  to  be.  Jesus 
now  avoids  further  use  of  the  term  Messiah  in  His 
claim  because  that  has  a  political  meaning  and 
plays  more  into  the  hands  of  His  enemies.     The 


*  IxaXkov  i^TJTouv.      Conative  imperfect. 
'  eXus.      Customary  action. 

'  idtov  because  Jesus  said  /lou. 

*  cffov  T(f>  Osaj.     Cf.  Phil.   2:6;  cffa  0e^.     Associative 
instrumental  case. 


68  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

claim  to  deity  is  theological  and  narrows  the 
issue  between  Jesus  and  the  Pharisees.  The  usual 
claim  of  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  man  is  in  reality 
Messianic  though  in  a  veiled  form  that  the  Phari- 
sees cannot  well  attack.  The  charge  of  blas- 
phemy is  involved  here,  but  the  Pharisees  must 
prove  the  charge  if  they  formally  make  it.  The  re- 
ply of  our  Lord  to  the  Pharisees  (5  :  19-47)  ^^  a 
great  apologetical  exposition  of  His  claim  to 
equality  with  God  and  completely  silences  His 
enemies,  though  they  are  in  no  wise  convinced. 
The  explanation  comes  first  (19-30).  Here  Jesus 
constantly  refers  to  Himself  as  "  the  Son "  and 
speaks  of  God  as  "  the  Father  "  and  thus  reiterates 
His  previous  claim  of  equality  with  God.  But  He 
gives  various  details  of  great  moment.  The  Son's 
deeds  are  precisely  those  of  the  Father  (5  :  19),  as, 
for  instance,  healing  the  impotent  man  on  the  Sab- 
bath. The  son  has  open  access  to  the  love,*  knowl- 
edge, and  power  of  the  Father,  and  this  case  of  the 
impotent  man  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  what 
the  Son  will  do  "  that  ye  may  marvel " '  (5  :  20).  As 
for  instance  He  will  even  raise  the  dead  (5  :  21),  as 
He  had  already  done  in  the  case  of  Jairus'  daughter 
(Mark  5  :  35-42).  The  Son  is  the  Judge  of  man- 
kind (John  5  :  22).  There  is  no  honouring  the  Fa- 
ther without  honouring  the  Son  (5  :  23)  and  thus 
the  Pharisees  are  dishonouring  God  in  not  honour- 

*  <piXeJ  here,  not  dya-n^^  from  <ptXo^  friend. 
"  ?va  Ofxel^  0aopLdZrjT£,     Continue  to  wonder.     Durative 
tction. 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     69 

ing  Jesus,  a  pertinent  word  for  present-day  theology 
which  so  often  patronizes  Jesus.  BeUef  in  the  Son 
brings  eternal  life  and  escape  from  spiritual  death.* 
Apparently  (note  •'  and  now  is  ")  in  verse  25  Jesus  is 
claiming  power  over  spiritual  Hfe,  though  in  28  f.  He 
undoubtedly  refers  to  the  resurrection  from  the  tomb. 
One  may  note  also  the  resurrection  of  both  classes 
in  29.  In  verse  26  Jesus  claims  to  **  have  hfe  in 
himself"^  as  the  Father  has.  All  of  these  are 
attributes  of  deity  and  are  meant  by  Jesus  to  be 
so  understood.  It  is  only  in  the  matter  of  judg- 
ing man  that  Jesus  explains  that  this  power  is  given 
Him  by  the  Father  "  because  he  is  a  Son  of  man  " 
(5  :  26).^  This  is  certainly  a  tremendous  claim  and 
not  compatible  with  any  theory  that  Jesus  is  only  a 
man,  even  the  best  of  men.  In  fact,  Jesus  expressly 
asserts  that  His  work  has  value  because  He  sustains 
this  very  relation  to  the  Father  and  does  His 
will  (5  :  30). 

Such  a  claim  calls  for  proof.  This  Jesus  recog- 
nizes and  proceeds  to  give  (31-47).  His  witness 
will  not  be  accepted  as  true  (5  :  31),  He  knows,  if 
He  only  bears  witness  of  Himself.  The  proof  that 
Jesus  offers  is  that  of  "  another  "  ^  (5  :  32).     He  is 

*  Note  two  senses  of  death  and  life  in  this  paragraph  (literal 
and  spiritual)  in  21,  24,  25,  26,  28,  29. 

'  wfo?  dvdpwTzou,  not  6  ulo^  rod  d.v6pd>7:oo.  The  Ara- 
maic barnashay  son  of  man,  is  ambiguous,  but  it  is  note- 
worthy that  the  Gospel  of  John  notes  the  difference  so  care- 
fully in  the  Greek  idiom. 

*  aXXofi,     Another  of  like  veracity  with  Jcsug. 


70  THE  DIVINITY  OP  CHEIST 

glad  to  point  to  the  testimony  of  the  Baptist,  to 
whom  the  Sanhedrin  had  sent  an  embassy,  and  in 
whose  Hght  they  were  all  willing  enough  to  re- 
joice for  a  season  (32-35),  this  •*  burning  and  shin- 
ing lamp."  ^  But  Jesus  has  more  than  the  witness 
of  man,  even  of  so  good  and  great  a  man  as  John. 
He  has  that  of  the  Father  Himself  by  the  very 
works  of  Jesus  which  show  that  the  Father  has  set 
His  seal  of  approval  upon  Him  (36-38).  In  verse 
37  Jesus  may  by  implication  refer  to  the  voice  of 
approval  at  His  baptism,  but  at  any  rate  He  point- 
edly claims  acquaintance  with  the  Father  and  His 
Word,  which  the  Jewish  leaders  do  not  possess. 
They  prove  their  lack  of  connection  with  God  by 
refusal  to  believe  God's  "  Apostle  "  ^  to  them  (verse 
38)  who  was  now  addressing  them.  But  this  is  not 
all.  Jesus  has  the  witness  of  the  Scriptures  which 
they  profess  to  know  and  to  "search"^  to  find 
eternal  life.  These  very  Scriptures  testify  of  Jesus 
(cf.  Luke  24 :  27),  but  their  stubbornness  blinds 
their  eyes  and  paralyzes  their  wills.^  They  prefer 
death  to  life  at  His  hands.  In  particular,  Moses 
rises  up  to  accuse  them,  Moses  who  wrote  of  Him 
in  his  writings  as  the  Prophet  (Deut.  18:15)  whom 
they  should  receive  (verses  41-47). 

2.     The  Clamor  of  the  Multitude  (6  :  1-15). 
The  scene  changes  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee  on  a 

*  6  Xoj^vo<i  6  kaidiievofs  /lal  ipaiviov.      His  lamp  still  shines 
on  through  the  ages.  'Sv  airiffTttkev  i/celvo^, 

'  ipauvdre.     Probably  present  indicative. 

*  «u  OiXsTS  iXOeiu  Tzpd^  /ze. 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS      71 

grassy  slope  on  the  northeastern  side  near  Beth- 
saida-JuHas  in  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip.  There  is  a 
great  multitude  who  are  carried  away  by  the  words 
and  the  deeds  of  Jesus.  The  great  Galilean  minis- 
try lies  behind  this  day  (see  Mark  1:14-6:13; 
Matt.  4:12-13:58;  Luke  4  :  14-9  :  9).  The  feed- 
ing of  the  five  thousand  men,  besides  the  women 
and  children,  was  the  climax.  "  When  therefore 
the  people  saw  the  sign  which  he  did,  they  said, 
This  is  of  a  truth  the  prophet  that  cometh  into  the 
world  "  (6  :  14).  This  was  a  popular  description  of 
the  Messiah  (cf.  Matt.  11:3;  John  1 1  :  27).  In 
Galilee,  as  wc  know,  Jesus  had  been  avoiding  the 
term  Messiah  and  the  Pharisees  had  tried  to  destroy 
His  power  with  the  people  by  saying  that  He  was 
in  league  with  Beelzebub  (Matt.  12:24;  Mark 
3 :  22).  But  here  the  people  renounce  the  Pharisaic 
tutelage  and  in  ecstasy  of  enthusiasm  propose  to 
"  seize  "  ^  Jesus  "  in  order  to  make  him  king  "  ^ 
whether  or  no.  They  are  just  at  the  point  ^  of  start- 
ing this  enterprise  when  Jesus  perceives  ^  it  in  time 
to  nip  it  in  the  bud.  It  is  a  crisis  and  calls  for  in- 
stant action  on  the  part  of  Jesus.  These  people 
have  the  notion  of  a  political  Messiah  which  the 
Pharisees  had  taught  them,  which  even  the  disciples 

^  dp-KaXetv.  Common  in  the  papyri  for  violent  seizure. 
Cf.  P.  Par.  66  8  f.  (Moulton  &  Milligan,  Vocabulary  of  the 
Greek  Testament). 

'  ha  7:oi7J(Tiu(T(v  ^acdia.  Note  aorist  tense  of  instant 
action. 

'  fiiXXoufftv,  *  yvohg. 


72  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

held  in  spite  of  Christ's  teaching  till  the  Holy  Spirit 
came  (cf.  Acts  I  :  6).  They  planned  a  political 
coup,  so  to  speak,  and  were  going  to  take  Jesus  to 
Jerusalem  and  proclaim  Him  King  in  opposition  to 
Caesar  and  so  throw  off  the  hated  Roman  yoke.  It 
had  come  to  this  that  the  Galileans  would  welcome 
Jesus  as  Messiah  in  defiance  of  the  Pharisees  if 
Jesus  would  be  their  sort  of  a  Messiah.  In  truth, 
the  Pharisees  themselves  would  have  hailed  Him  as 
Messiah  on  the  same  terms.  It  was  the  voice  of 
the  people,  but,  alas,  not  the  voice  of  God.  John 
does  not  tell  about  the  sending  of  the  multitude 
away  (Matt.  14:  22  f.;  Mark  6:  45),  but  only  of  the 
withdrawal  of  Jesus  "  again  into  the  mountain  him- 
self alone  "  *  (John  6  :  15).  He  was  absolutely  alone 
in  the  world  so  far  as  human  understanding  went, 
for  the  Twelve  themselves  evidently  sympathized 
with  the  mad  purpose  of  the  crowd  to  make  Jesus  a 
political  King  in  Jerusalem. 

3.     The  Fear  of  the  Disciples  (6  :  16-21). 

Delayed  by  the  sudden  storm  on  the  lake  and  the 
thick  darkness  the  disciples  about  the  fourth  watch 
(three  o'clock  at  night)  see  what  looks  like  a  ghost 
(Mark  6 :  49)  walking  on  the  sea  and  "  drawing 
nigh 2  unto  the  boat."  **  They  became'  afraid  "  and 
naturally  so.  They  were  willing  Uo  take  Jesus  into 
the   boat  only   after    His    reassuring  voice.     John 

^  auTo?  1x6^0^.  For  He  had  also  sent  the  disciples  across 
the  lake. 

^  ytvofxevov.      Coming  closer  and  closer. 

•  i<poj^ij07jffav,     Ingressive  aorist.  *  ^OeXov, 


THE  GEOWIl^G  HATEED  OF  JESUS     73 

touches  this  miracle  lightly  (cf.  Matt.  14 :  24-34), 
but  it  is  clear  that  the  disciples  gained  a  fresh  im- 
pression of  the  power  of  Jesus  over  wind  and  wave 
as  they  had  just  seen  His  mastery  in  the  matter  of 
the  loaves  and  the  fishes. 

4.    The  Sifting  of  the  People  (6  :  22-71). 

In  the  synagogue  in  Capernaum  on  the  morrow 
Jesus  faces  a  great  crowd,  including  the  people  who 
the  day  before  showed  such  fanaticism  because  of 
the  loaves  and  the  fishes.  The  populace  are  fickle 
and  even  now  seem  to  be  hinting  for  a  fresh  meal 
at  the  hands  of  Jesus.  There  is  not  here  space  to 
follow  in  detail  the  steps  by  which  Jesus  almost 
casts  pearls  before  swine  in  His  patient  endeavour 
to  help  these  people  see  what  sort  of  a  Messiah  He 
really  is  in  contrast  to  their  political  hopes  ex- 
pressed the  afternoon  before.  When  He  seeks  to 
turn  their  thoughts  to  the  food  for  eternal  life  (26  f.), 
and  belief  on  Him  as  sent  of  God  (28  f.),  they  actu- 
ally demand  a  new  sign  for  such  faith,  something 
on  a  par  with  the  manna  in  the  wilderness  which 
came  every  morning,  not  one  meal  on  an  afternoon 
(30  f.).  When  Jesus  offers  them  better  bread  than 
that,  they  eagerly  cry  for  it,  thinking  only  of  literal 
bread  (32-34).  But  when  He  explains  that  He  is 
Himself  the  bread  of  life  and  the  water  of  Hfe 
(35-40),  they  murmur*  like  a  swarm  of  bees  with 
sceptical  scorn  at  His  divine  claims,  this  Jesus 
"  whose  father  and  mother  we  know  "  (41  f.).     Here 

*  iydyi'uCov.     An  onomatopoetic  word  like  our  murmur. 


74  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

we  face  the  popular  incredulity  of  the  possibility  of 
the  combination  in  one  person  of  God  and  man. 
Modern  unbelief  illustrates  precisely  the  same  atti- 
tude of  mind.  But  Jesus  explains  the  folly  of  their 
scorn  (43)  and  their  impotence  to  come  to  Him  for 
life  without  the  drawing '  of  the  Father  (44).  They 
are  not  taught  of  God  (45).  So  Jesus  repeats  His 
claim  to  be  the  bread  of  life  in  His  own  flesh,  which 
He  is  giving  for  the  hfe  of  the  world  (46-51).  The 
Jews  were  indignant  at  this  presentation  of  the  mat- 
ter and  actually  came  to  blows  ^  (a  sort  of  riot)  with 
each  other  at  the  idea  of  eating  His  flesh  as  if  they 
were  cannibals  (52).  When  Jesus  further  explained 
that  they  must  eat  His  flesh  and  drink  His  blood 
(53-59),  it  was  plain  that  He  was  far  beyond  the 
depth  of  these  people  without  mystical  insight.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  see  here  a  forecast  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  but  simply  a  mystical  and  bold  statement 
of  the  necessity  of  the  spiritual  appropriation  of  the 
life  and  death  of  Christ.  He  even  says  "  eateth 
me."  ^  It  is  evident  that  Jesus  is  testing  this  crowd 
to  the  bottom  to  see  how  they  will  rally  to  a  spir- 
itual Messiah.  It  was  only  too  clear  what  they 
would  do  by  what  they  did.  Many  of  the  pro- 
fessed disciples  now  followed  the  other  Jews  in  dis- 
gust out  of  the  synagogue  (66).  "  They  walked  no 
more  with  Jesus."  If  this  is  all  that  He  meant  to 
do,  they  had  had  enough  of  Him  and  of  His  mes- 
sage. Now  at  last  they  had  their  eyes  opened. 
All  had  gone  save  the  Twelve.  Jesus  turned  to 
*  kXkoarj,  *  ifid^ovTO,  *  6  rptoywv  fis. 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     75 

them  and  asked ;  *'  Would  ye  also  go  away  ? " 
The  form*  of  the  question  expects  a  negative 
answer,  but  the  mere  asking  of  it  shows  how  much 
Jesus  took  to  heart  this  rejection  by  the  populace 
whom  He  longed  to  save.  Perhaps  the  Twelve  had 
also  been  disenchanted  like  the  rest.  They  now 
have  their  opportunity  if  they  wish  to  leave  Jesus. 
It  is  Peter  who  speaks,  as  usual,  and  his  answer 
shows  clearly  that  they  had  faced  that  alternative 
and  decided  against  it :  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  wc 
go  ?  "  That  is  one  point.  "  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life."  That  is  another.  But  best  of  all  is 
this :  "  And  we  have  believed  and  know  that  thou 
art  the  Holy  One  of  God."  This  is  not  a  new  dis- 
covery on  their  part.  They  had  seen  that  at  the 
start,  but  it  is  now  their  settled  conviction^  after  all 
their  doubts  and  fears  and  they  gladly  reaffirm  their 
faith  at  this  moment  when  the  floating  crowd  have 
renounced  their  allegiance  to  Jesus  who  is  no 
longer  the  Galilean  Hero.  It  is  plain,  therefore, 
that  the  hope  of  Jesus  lies  in  this  little  band  of 
faithful  men,  but  there  is  bitterness  at  the  bottom 
of  this  cup  of  joy,  for  one  of  these  men  of  Christ's 
choice  is  a  devil.'  Judas,  one  of  the  Twelve,  was  to 
betray  Jesus.  This  Jesus  knew,  though  He  did  not 
explain  the  terrible  accusation.  A  sudden  look  of 
dismay  was  probably  shot  at  each  other  when  Jesus 
said,  "  one  of  you." 

"  Note  perfect  tenses  izsTziffrsbkafisv  kai  iyvcu/iafiev, 
^  did^okoi,  not  daifxoviov^  a  real  old<s  too  dia^dkou. 


76  THE  DIVIKETY  OF  CHEIST 

5.  The  Ridicule  of  Christ's  Brothers  (7 :  i-io). 
John  skips  again  some  six  months  during  which 

time  Jesus  kept  out  of  Judea  as  for  the  year  before, 
because  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  Him  (John  7 :  i) 
and  for  most  of  this  six  months  Jesus  withdrew 
from  Galilee  also.  The  Son  of  man  is  hated  in 
Jerusalem,  disliked  by  many  in  Galilee,  and  now  His 
own  brothers  reflect  the  change  in  the  public  atti- 
tude towards  Jesus.  They  had  come  to  feel  that 
He  was  beside  Himself  (Mark  3:21,31)  and  now 
they  became  insolent  and  scornful  in  the  sneering 
suggestion  that  Jesus  was  ashamed  to  appear  in 
public  any  more  and  was  hiding  His  light  under  a 
bushel.  "  Manifest  thyself  to  the  world,"  they  said, 
"  for  even  his  brethren  did  not  believe  on  him " 
(5  :  5).  This  heavy  additional  burden  Jesus  had  to 
bear,  misjudgment  in  His  own  home  and,  for  a 
while,  even  by  His  own  mother  (Mark  3:31),  the 
one  of  all  others  who  did  understand  Him  and 
believe  in  Him.  But  Jesus  would  walk  His  path 
alone  if  need  be.  So  He  did  just  the  opposite  of 
the  impudent  advice  of  His  brothers  when  He  did 
go  to  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  He  made  no  claims 
to  them. 

6.  The  Wrangle  Over  Jesus  at  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  (7  :  11-8  :  59). 

At  the  feast  of  tabernacles  six  months  before 
His  death  Jesus  is  the  uppermost  topic  of  con- 
versation even  before  He  comes  and  His  enemies 
openly  sought  Him  as  if  to  kill  Him  (7  :  1 1).     The 


THE  GEOWING  HATRED  OF  JESUS     77 

multitudes  from  Galilee  and  elsewhere  were  divided 
over  the  problem  of  Jesus  (7 :  12),  for  He  was  now 
the  outstanding  figure  of  Palestine  and  challenged 
the  attention  of  all  classes.     Jesus  Himself  was  now 
"  a  sign  which  is  spoken  against  "  "  set  for  the  fall- 
ing and  the  rising  of  many  in  Israel "  (Luke  2 :  34), 
as  old  Simeon  had  said  would  be  the  case.     Who  is 
this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  whom  the  Jewish  rulers  so 
disHke  ?      This    question  was   now  to  the  fore  in 
every  group  that  gathered  in  the  corridors  of  the 
Court  of  the  Gentiles.     But  the  talk  was  in  whispers, 
for  the  friends  of  Jesus  did  not  wish  to  play  into 
the  hands  of  the  Jewish  leaders  (7:  13).     Nowhere 
is  John  more  dramatic  and  powerful  than  in  the 
swift   movement   of  these  chapters.     The  various 
elements  of  the  national  life  move  before  us  as  they 
take  various  attitudes  towards  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
Jesus  is  still  the  lodestone  of  human  hearts,  the 
standard  of  measurement  for  all  modern  men  who 
cannot  escape  the  moral  appeal  of  the  Full  Stature 
of  the    Manhood   of  Christ   (Eph.    4:13).     Some 
deride,  some  praise  and  pass  by,  some  linger  and 
strive  humbly  to  attain,  but  all  notice  the  only  FuU- 
Grown  Man  of  the  Ages.     So  Jesus  comes  boldly 
to  the  feast  in  the  midst  of  its  celebration  and  stands 
in  the  Temple  teaching  without  fear,  though  fully 
conscious   of  the  electric  atmosphere  about   Him. 
The  hostile  Jews  scoff  in  wonder  at  His  audacity  in 
trying  to  teach  without  scholastic  preparation  or 
ecclesiastical  permit,  a  sort  of  theological  ignoramus 
and    free-lance   in   their   opinion  (7;i4f.).     Jesus 


78  THE  DIVIKITY  OF  CHRIST 

promptly  accepts  this  challenge  and  admits  the 
technical  correctness  of  their  charge,  but  denies  the 
implication  of  ignorant  invention  of  ill-considered 
teaching  because  He  gets  His  teaching  directly 
from  God.  This  is  a  fact  which  they  can  test  for 
themselves  by  the  willingness  *  to  do  God's  will  in- 
stead of  mere  academic  disputation  which  gets 
no  whither,  and  thus  they  will  find  no  unrighteous- 
ness in  Jesus  (5  :  16-18).  Then,  while  they  listen 
with  amazement  at  the  skill  and  courage  of  Jesus, 
He  suddenly  charges  them  with  failure  to  keep  the 
law  of  Moses  which  they  praised  so  much  and  yet 
covered  up  with  their  own  pettifogging  rules,  a 
cutting  indictment  of  current  Pharisaism  in  line 
with  that  in  Matthew  23  and  justified  by  the  later 
Talmud  itself.  But  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue,  Jesus 
lets  fall  this  question  :  "  Why  seek  ye  to  kill  me  ?  " 
(5  :  19).  The  Jewish  leaders  are  speechless  at  this 
putting  them  on  the  defensive,  this  reading  of  their 
own  hearts  in  public.  Some  of  the  Galilean  multi- 
tude, ignorant  of  the  plans  of  the  ecclesiastics,  re- 
tort in  behalf  of  the  rulers  that  Jesus  had  a  demon 
(5  :  20),  a  favourite  "  fling  "  in  those  days  on  the  part 
of  exasperated  disputants.  Certainly  there  is  no  lack 
of  heat  in  the  discussion.  The  sparks  fly  fast. 
Jesus  refers  to  the  one  great  work  done  by  Him 
probably  a  year  and  a  half  ago  when  they  tried  to 
kill  Him  in  Jerusalem  (5:18)  and  once  more  justifies 

^  kdv  r«9  OiXy) — rrotelv.  Not  a  mere  periphrastic  future, 
but  **  the  will  to  obey.'*  It  is  in  the  will  that  the  decision 
of  life  is  made.     Cf.  "  The  Will  to  Believe." 


THE  GEO  WING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     79 

His  habit  of  healing  on  the  Sabbath  day  by  the 
practice  of  circumcision  on  the  Sabbath,  when  one 
Mosaic  law  overrides  another  (7:21-24).  They 
are  entirely  too  superficial  in  their  criticism,  as  is  the 
way  of  carping  critics.  The  Jerusalem  populace, 
who  know  of  the  plans  of  the  rulers,  next  comment 
in  wonder  on  the  failure  of  the  rulers  to  arrest  Jesus 
after  all  their  boasts  and  tauntingly  ask  if  they 
*•  have  come  to  know  *  of  a  truth  that  this  fellow  ^  is 
the  Messiah  "  (7  :  25  f.).  They  add  a  bit  of  popular 
theology  of  a  piece  with  the  advice  of  the  devil  to 
Jesus  to  let  the  people  see  Him  drop  down  from 
the  pinnacle  of  the  Temple  as  if  from  heaven.  The 
people  and  some  of  the  Pharisees  thought  that  the 
Messiah  would  drop  out  of  the  skies  (7 :  27).  The 
reply  of  Jesus,  in  which  He  claims  a  knowledge  of 
God  which  this  mob  does  not  possess,  angers  them 
so  that  they  try  to  kill  Him  without  waiting  on  the 
rulers  (7 :  28-30).  The  pot  is  boiling  now.  The 
Galilean  multitude  is  divided  over  Jesus,  but  many 
more  openly  champion  His  cause  and  pertinently 
ask  whether,  if  Jesus  is  not  the  Messiah,  the  Mes- 
siah Himself  will  do  more  signs  (7:31).  This 
espousal  of  Christ  leads  the  Pharisees  to  order  the 
arrest  of  Jesus  by  Roman  "  officers,"  while  Jesus 
calmly  teaches  on  in  defiance  of  their  efforts.  The 
Pharisees  sneeringly  explain  the  words  of  Jesus  as 
the  counsel  of  despair  and  a  flight  to  the  dispersion 
of  the  Jews   among  the  Greeks  (7:32-36).     But 

^  dXrjda)?  eyvuxTav.     Effective  aorist  and  timeless. 
'  ohro<i  in  derisive  mood. 


80  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Jesus  is  not  arrested  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  feast 
proclaims  that  He  has  the  water  of  life  for  all  who 
will  come  ;  *  and  once  again  the  multitude  are  keenly 
divided  over  Jesus  as  to  whether  He  is  the  Christ, 
some  explaining  that  the  Messiah  comes  from 
Bethlehem  while  Jesus  is  from  Galilee  (7 :  37-44). 
So  men  argued  in  their  ignorance,  but  the  hands  of 
men  were  stayed  from  Jesus  for  His  hour  was  not 
yet  come.  The  officers  did  come  finally  to  report 
to  the  Sanhedrin,  but  they  did  not  bring  Jesus  and 
bore  witness  to  the  power  of  Christ's  words.  The 
rage  of  the  Pharisees  reveals  their  scorn  of  Jesus 
and  of  the  accursed  multitude  (the  'Am-ha-'Aretz^ 
the  people  of  the  land),  who  alone  follow  the  up- 
start Galilean  (7  :  45-49).  But  Nicodemus,  who  has 
now  won  more  courage,  dares  to  make  a  point  of 
law  in  behalf  of  Jesus  and  justice,  only  to  bring 
down  a  fresh  vial  of  wrath  on  his  own  head 
(7:50-52). 

The  feast  of  tabernacles  is  over  and  the  crowds 
from  abroad  go  home,  but  Jesus  lingers  on  a  few 
days.  The  Pharisees  are  full  of  resentment  at  the 
turn  of  affairs  and  very  inflammable  and  explosive.^ 
Jesus  is  again  in  the  Temple  when  the  Pharisees 
are.     He  probably  said  :    "  I  am  the  light  of  the 

^  On  each  of  the  first  seven  days  of  this  feast  water  from 
the  Pool  of  Siloam  was  carried  in  a  golden  pitcher  before  a 
procession.  On  the  eighth  day  this  was  not  done,  for  the 
people  were  now  supposed  to  be  in  the  land  of  springs. 

^The  incident  of  the  adulterous  woman  (7  :  53-8  :  ii) 
is  almost  certainly  not  a  part  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  though 
it  bears  every  mark  of  being  a  veracious  story. 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     81 

world  "  (8  :  12)  on  purpose  for  them  to  hear.  This 
is  precisely  what  the  Pharisees  thought  that  they 
were,  though  they  would  hardly  say  it  in  plain 
terms.  But  such  a  claim  from  Jesus,  who  was 
taboo  in  Pharisaic  circles,  was  intolerable.  They 
were  quick  to  take  Jesus  up  and  to  accuse  Him 
of  simply  praising  Himself  (8  :  1 3).  His  bare  word 
was  not  acceptable.  We  are  bound  to  admit  the 
technical  justice  of  this  retort  of  the  Pharisees.  If 
Jesus  is  only  a  man,  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to 
justify  such  language  in  His  mouth.  The  claim  is 
universal,  for  all  the  world  and  for  all  time.  It  is 
only  consonant  with  the  fact  of  the  deity  of  Jesus 
and  the  revelation  of  this  truth  on  the  part  of  Jesus, 
and  thus  follows  naturally  without  the  conceit  which 
would  otherwise  be  inevitable.  Jesus  replies  that 
He  can  speak  the  truth  all  by  Himself,  but  admits 
their  right  to  demand  confirmation  which  He  pro- 
duces in  the  witness  of  His  Father  (8  :  14-18).  At 
this  turn  the  Pharisees  throw  in  His  face  the  charge 
of  being  a  bastard  ' :  "  Where  is  thy  Father  ?  "  with 
a  grin  and  a  leer  (8 :  19).  But  Jesus  witheringly 
adds  that  they  know  neither  Him  nor  His  Father 
(8  :  19),  meaning  God. 

The  Master  seems  to  be  in  a  provocative  mood 
and  draws  the  lines  of  cleavage  very  sharply  be- 
tween Himself  and  the  Pharisees  in  destiny,  in 
origin,  in  spirit  (8  :  21-30).  He  defiantly  tells  them 
that  they  shall  die  in  their  sins  unless  they  believe 
in  Him.  His  language  (8 :  24)  is  absolute  :  "  That 
*  As  is  done  in  the  Talmud. 


82  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

I  am  "  *  and  may  be  itself  a  claim  to  deity,  though 
Jesus  stoutly  refuses  to  say  the  word  "  Messiah  "  to 
them  or  to  explain  further  when  they  pointedly  ask 
Him  :  "  Who  art  thou  ?  "  (8  :  25).  He  does  say 
that  they  shall  come  to  know  who  He  is  when  they 
have  lifted  Him  up  on  the  Cross  (8 :  28),  as  many 
did  at  Pentecost  and  afterwards  (Acts  2-6). 

Some  of  the  Pharisees  had  been  impressed  by 
the  tremendous  claims  of  Jesus  and  expressed  be- 
lief in  Him  as  the  Messiah  (8 :  30),  but  Jesus  was 
suspicious  of  the  Jerusalem  Pharisees  (cf.  2  :  23-25) 
and  proceeded  to  test  the  reality  and  sincerity  of 
their  faith  (8  :  31-59).  He  wishes  no  disciples  under 
false  pretenses.  The  only  real  disciples  are  those 
who  hold  out  and  stand  by  the  word  of  Jesus 
(8:31).  Thus  they  will  know  the  truth  and  the 
truth  will  make  them  free  (8  :  32).  Nothing  else 
liberates  the  spirit  of  man  from  the  bondage  of  sin 
and  the  shackles  of  human  prejudice.  At  once  it 
is  clear  that  these  "  disciples  "  are  more  Pharisee 
than  Christian,  for  they  resent  the  implication  that 
they  had  ever  been  "  in  bondage  to  any  man," 
though  at  that  moment  they  were  under  the 
political  yoke  of  Rome  and  the  still  heavier  re- 
ligious yoke  of  the  rabbis  in  spite  of  their  pride 
in  being  "  Abraham's  seed "  (8  :  33).  Jesus  ex- 
plains that  they  are  in  bondage  to  sin  and  repeats 
that  the  Son  can  set  them  free  from  that,  although 
they  (the  Pharisees)  were  seeking  to  kill  Him,  clear 
proof  that  their  father  is  not  the  same  as  His  Father 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     83 

(8  :  34-38).  In  spite  of  their  plea  that  Abraham  is 
their  father  (8  ;  39),  they  do  not  act  hke  it  (8  :  40) 
and  do  the  works  of  their  spiritual  father  (8  :  41). 
In  a  flash  they  deny  that  they  are  the  children  of 
fornication,  as  by  implication  Jesus  is  (for  Jesus 
passed  as  the  son  of  Joseph  begotten  out  of  wed- 
lock). They  now  claim  God  as  their  "  one  Father  " 
(8  :  41).  Once  more  Jesus  explains  that  their  con- 
duct shows  that  God  is  not  their  spiritual  Father, 
but  on  the  contrary  proves  that  the  devil  is  their 
spiritual  father  (8  :  42-47).  This  was  a  terrific  turn 
of  the  argument  against  these  claimants  of  ex- 
clusive spiritual  prerogatives  as  the  children  of 
Abraham.  John  the  Baptist  had  called  them 
broods  of  vipers  (Matt.  3 : 7),  but  this  indictment 
was  far  worse.  Jesus  had  practically  also  accused 
the  Pharisees  of  being  liars  while  asserting  sinless- 
ness  for  Himself.  The  Pharisees  hiss  back  the 
bitter  words :  **  Say  we  not  well  that  thou  art  a 
Samaritan  and  hast  a  demon  ?  "  (8  :  49),  the  two 
meanest  things  that  they  can  think  of  in  their  rage. 
But  Jesus  proceeds  and  claims  to  be  able  to  pre- 
vent death  (spiritual  death,  of  course),  while  the 
Jews  accuse  Jesus  of  claiming  to  be  greater  than 
Abraham  and  the  prophets  (8:50-53).  This  is 
precisely  what  Jesus  did  claim.  He  must  speak 
the  truth  about  Himself  as  God's  own  Son,  else  be 
silent  and  so  a  liar  like  them,  for  Abraham  rejoiced 
to  see  His  day  (8  :  54-56).  The  Jews  are  literalists 
and  at  the  final  claim  of  Jesus  to  timeless  and 
eternal  existence  before  the  day  of  Abraham,  they 


84  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

take  up  stones  to  stone  Him  as  a  common  blas- 
phemer (8  :  57-59).  Jesus  escaped,  but  the  sting- 
ing memory  of  that  day  would  not  pass  from  the 
minds  of  the  Pharisees. 

7.    The  Wit  of  the  Man  Born  Blind  (Chap.  9). 

This  chapter  relieves  the  tension  of  the  story  by 
the  dehghtful  play  of  wit  and  humour  on  the  part 
of  the  gifted  man  who  was  healed  by  Jesus  as  he 
passed  out  of  the  storm  in  the  Temple  (9  :  i).  The 
man's  humour  appears  in  his  naive  confession  to  his 
neighbours  that  he  is  in  reality  the  very  beggar 
who  used  to  be  blind  (9  : 9).  He  tells  the  simple 
straightforward  story  of  the  facts  relative  to  the 
opening  of  his  eyes,  sticks  to  it  all  the  time,  parries 
every  effort  to  get  himself  tangled  in  his  words,  ex- 
presses his  own  opinion  that  Jesus  is  a  prophet, 
refuses  to  call  Jesus  a  sinner  to  relieve  the  Pharisees 
of  their  own  theological  embarrassments  over  a 
stubborn  fact  that  upset  their  theology  about  the 
Sabbath,  stands  by  the  crucial  fact  of  his  receiving 
sight  at  the  hands  of  Jesus,  playfully  twits  the 
Pharisees  with  the  desire  to  become  the  disciples 
of  Jesus,  makes  merry  over  their  ignorance  about 
Jesus,  and  finally  argues  conclusively  to  show  that 
God  must  be  with  Jesus  at  any  rate.  The  Pharisees 
lose  all  self-control  and  blaze  out  at  Him  :  "  Thou 
was  altogether  *  born  in  sin,  and  dost  thou  teach 
us  ?  "  (9  :  34).     They  finished  the  business  by  cast- 

^  0/I09.  Every  whit  of  you.  Total  depravity  with  -^ 
vengeance. 


THE  GEOWING  HATRED  OF  JESUS     86 

ing  the  impudent  upstart  out  of  the  Synagogue 
(out  of  church),  the  way  of  the  bigot  in  all  ages 
who  tries  to  stifle  truth  by  injury  to  the  herald 
of  it. 

But  the  outcome  of  this  story  (9:  35-41)  is  beau- 
tiful indeed.  Jesus  heard  of  the  poor  fellow's  treat- 
ment and  sought  him  out.  He  had  been  turned  out 
of  the  Jewish  "  church,"  but  Jesus  was  going  to  take 
him  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which,  alas,  was 
outside  of  that  "  church,"  as  has  often  been  true 
through  the  ages.  Even  organic  Christianity  has 
sometimes  turned  the  followers  of  Jesus  out-of-doors 
and  left  Jesus  Himself  standing  on  the  outside  of 
the  church  and  would  not  open  the  door  to  let  Him 
in  (Rev.  3 :  20),  because  to  do  that  would  be  to  dis- 
turb the  smug  complacency  of  a  dead  church  in  the 
grip  of  the  devil.  So  Jesus  reveals  Himself  to  the 
man,  whose  eyes  He  had  opened,  as  the  Son  of  God 
and  at  once  receives  the  fealty  and  the  worship  of  the 
man's  heart.  Here  we  have  a  flash-light  on  the  his- 
toric environment  of  Jesus.  The  religious  leaders 
of  the  Jewish  people,  who  should  have  been  able 
to  recognize  Him  as  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, 
were  so  utterly  blind  that  they  could  not  tell  light 
from  darkness.  They  even  try  to  put  out  the  Light 
of  the  world  and  to  ostracize  these  who  have  their 
eyes  opened  to  see.  They  preferred  the  aristocracy 
of  darkness  and  death  to  the  democracy  of  light, 
freedom,  and  life  in  Christ.  "  Are  we  also  blind  ?  " 
the  Pharisees  pitifully  asked  Jesus.  Alas,  if  their 
blindness  had  been  only  intellectual  and  not  spiritual, 


86  THE  DIYIKETY  OF  CHEIST 

their  case  would  have  been  better.  They  claim  to  be 
the  torch-Hghts  of  truth  for  the  people.  They  boast 
of  their  insight  and  cannot  escape  their  sin.  This 
word  of  Jesus  holds  good  of  all  preachers  and  theo- 
logical teachers  to-day.  We  must  all  speak  what 
we  see,  but  we  do  it  at  our  own  risk.  The  Light 
has  come,  but  "  men  loved  the  darkness  rather  than 
the  light;  for  their  works  were  evil"  (4:  19). 

8.    A  Schism  by  an  Allegory  (10: 1-21). 

It  is  clear  that  the  Pharisees  are  present.  Jesus 
tells  the  Allegory  *  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  He  evi- 
dently tells  it  to  draw  the  distinction  sharply  between 
the  Pharisees  and  Himself.  His  sheep,  like  the  man 
born  blind,  hear  His  voice  and  come  at  His  call. 
The  Pharisees  are  too  dull  and  too  prejudiced  to 
understand  the  words  of  Jesus  (10 :  6)  and  so  He 
tells  the  story  over  again  with  more  detail  (7-18). 
He  explains  that  He  is  the  Good  Shepherd  who 
lays  down  His  life  for  the  sheep  and  does  not  run 
from  the  wolf  when  he  comes.  He  lays  down  His 
life  voluntarily  and  therein  lies  its  moral  value.  He 
has  power  also  to  take  it  up  again,  as  He  will  do, 
and  therein  lies  the  supreme  proof  of  His  claim  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  able  to  make  the  atoning  sacri- 
fice for  the  sin  of  the  world.  For  He  has  other 
sheep  outside  of  the  Jewish  fold.  Gentiles,  whom  He 
must  bring.     "  I  came  that  they  may  have  life,  and 

^  napotfiia  (io:6),  a  word  by  the  way,  a  byword,  a 
proverb,  a  parable,  and  here  an  allegory  which  is  a  self- 
explanatory  parable. 


THE  GEOWING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     87 

may  have  it  abundantly*"  (lO:  lo).  Out  of  these 
separate  folds  will  be  made  "  one  flock  "  under  the 
"  one  shepherd,"  another  figure  in  the  Kingdom  of 
God  composed  of  the  redeemed  of  all  nations  and 
ages.  Both  times  Jesus  has  indicated  that  the 
Pharisees  are  like  the  thieves  and  robbers  on  the 
outside  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  yet  some  of 
them  were  convinced  by  the  words  of  Jesus  and  in 
reply  to  the  sneer  that  Jesus  has  a  demon  and  is 
mad  (both,  as  was  usually  the  case)  calmly  assert 
that  Jesus  has  not  talked  like  a  demoniac,  and,  be- 
sides, "  Can  a  demon  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  ?  " 
Thus  a  "  schism "  ^  arose  among  the  Pharisees,  a 
great  triumph  for  Jesus  under  all  the  circumstances. 
But  all  along  we  see  that  everything  in  this  Gospel 
turns  round  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ. 

9.    An  Argumentum  ad  Hominem  (10 :  22-39). 

Three  months  apparently  intervene  between  verses 
21  and  22  in  chapter  10,  an  interval  probably  spent 
in  Judea  (Luke  10:  1-13:  21).  It  is  now  the  feast 
of  dedication,  about  our  Christmas  time.  Jesus  is 
walking  in  Solomon's  porch  and  the  Jews  make  a 
circle*  round  Him  as  if  they  are  delighted  to  see 
Him.  In  fact  their  question  means  that  the  "  sus- 
pense "  ^  has  been  unbearable  and  now  they  must 
know  once  for  all  the  truth  about  Him :  "  If  thou 

^  Tzepcffffdv.     An  overflow  of  life. 

^fT^ifffia.      A  split.  ^  ikbkluxrav. 

^TYjv  4>u)(7jv  ijiiwv  afpec<s.  He  held  their  souls  in  mid-air 
and  gave  them  no  rest. 


88  THE  DIVmiTY  OF  CHEIST 

art  the  Messiah  tell  us  plainly"*  (lO:  24).  It  was 
all  plausible  enough  and  would  probably  have 
availed  for  the  ordinary  teacher,  but  it  was  a  skill- 
ful trap,  all  the  same,  set  right  before  the  bird  that 
they  wished  to  catch.  They  wished  Jesus  to  con- 
fess in  plain  words  that  He  claimed  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah so  that  they  could  arraign  Him  before  the 
Sanhedrin  on  this  confession.  It  was  not  blasphemy 
to  be  the  Messiah,  to  be  sure,  but  this  fact  was  in- 
conceivable in  the  case  of  Jesus.  But  Jesus  saw 
through  the  plot  and  declined  to  be  caught  in  their 
toils.  He  reminded  them  of  His  previous  discourses 
three  months  before  and  repeated  some  of  His  say- 
ings and  pointedly  said :  "  I  and  the  Father  are 
one"  (10 :  30).  This  admission  they  at  once  inter- 
preted as  blasphemy  and  they  took  up^  stones  again 
(cf.  8 :  59).  But  Jesus  was  unafraid  and  proceeded 
to  "  rally  "  them  for  their  logical  inconsistency  even 
as  they  stood  with  stones  in  their  uplifted  hands 
ready  ^  to  hurl  at  Him.  Granted  that  He  did  claim 
the  term  "  God  "  for  Himself  by  saying :  '♦  I  am 
Son  of  God."  *  That  language  is  not  equal  to  what 
occurs  in  Psalm  82 :  6  where  the  judges  of  Israel, 
as  God's  agents,  are  called  "  gods."     It  was  a  clever 

^  TrappTjffia,  Fully,  holding  nothing  back.  Mr.  E.  S. 
Buchanon  reports  that  a  Western  text  from  Armagh  reads : 
**  If  thou  art  God,  tell  us  plainly.'* 

^  i/SaffTaffav,  not  ^pav  of  8  :  59.  It  is  originally  to  **  lift" 
as  here  and  later  to  **  carry."     Both  uses  in  the  papyri. 

^  XiOd^ers.  Conative  (present  indicative)  or  interrupted 
action.      The  process  had  already  begun. 

*  Note  oloi  TOO  Oeou,  not  6  uio^  too  Oeou, 


THE  GEO  WING  HATEED  OF  JESUS     89 

turn  and  a  justifiable  argumentiirn  ad  hominem. 
As  a  mere  man,  Jesus  could  speak  of  Himself  as 
"  a  Son  of  God."  The  stones  seem  to  have  dropped 
from  their  hands  as  the  result  of  it.  Certainly  Jesus 
did  not  mean  to  say  that  this  was  the  only  sense  in 
which  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  This  apparent  dis- 
claimer is  one  of  Schmiedel's  famous  "  pillars  "  of 
doubt  (I  call  them)  about  Jesus. 

One  is  devoid  of  a  sense  of  humour  who  does 
not  know  how  to  take  this  incident.  The  writer 
proceeded  to  show  how  Jesus,  after  this  bit  of  theo- 
logical byplay  after  the  fashion  of  the  rabbis  of 
which  so  many  specimens  occur  in  the  Talmud, 
repeated  His  claims  to  oneness  with  the  Father 
(10:38).  The  result  was  that  the  Jews  "sought 
again  to  take  him,"  though  they  did  not  apparently 
hurl  the  stones  which  they  had  before  lifted  up. 
Jesus  escaped  (10:39)  o^t  of  their  hand  as  He 
had  done  before  (8 :  59),  but  clearly  Jerusalem  was 
now  a  dangerous  place  for  Jesus. 

ID.     An  Echo  of  the  Baptist's  Preaching  (10 : 

40-42). 

Once  more  after  possibly  some  three  years  He  is 
again  at  Bethany  beyond  Jordan,  in  reality  a  refugee 
from  Jewish  hate,  here  where  John  the  Baptist  had 
borne  his  last  testimony  to  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  the 
Son  of  God  (i  :  28,  34).  The  rare  quality  of  John's 
preaching  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  many  there 
recalled  his  message  about  Jesus  and  saw  that  it 
was  true  when  they  beheld  Jesus.     John's  portrait 


90  THE  DIYIKITY  OF  CHRIST 

of  Jesus  fit  the  original  and  they  beheved  on  Jesus 
because  of  it.  Thus  John's  voice  has  kept  on  echo- 
ing through  the  ages,  witnessing  for  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  of  God. 

II.    The  Master  of  Death  (ii  :  1-44). 

This  chapter  has  given  especial  offense  to  many 
modern  critics  because  of  the  part  that  the  raising 
of  Lazarus  is  made  to  play  in  the  closing  days  of 
Christ's  life,  though  no  mention  of  this  great  event 
occurs  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  Drummond,  who 
argues  for  the  Johannine  authorship  of  the  Gospel, 
balks  at  the  historicity  of  this  miracle.  There  are 
raisings  from  the  dead  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  the 
daughter  of  Jairus  (Matt.  9  :  22-26)  and  the  son  of 
the  widow  of  Nain  (Luke  7  :  Ii-I7),but  they  might 
by  a  stretch  be  explained  by  the  critics  as  cases  of 
swooning,  while  the  case  of  Lazarus  admits  of  no 
such  naturalistic  explanation.  One  is  forced  to 
credit  Jesus  with  power  to  bring  the  dead  to  hfe  or 
to  treat  the  narrative  as  legend  or  simply  symbolic 
of  spiritual  life.  But,  I  submit,  if  one  can  come 
with  John's  argument  thus  far  without  flinching,  he 
need  not  be  squeamish  about  this  famous  eleventh 
chapter.  If  Jesus  is  the  Logos  made  flesh  (chapter 
i),  the  Son  of  God  with  power  over  life  and  death 
as  He  claimed  (chapter  5),  why  could  He  not  do 
what  God  can  do  ?  It  all  turns  on  the  power  of 
God  at  last,  unless  the  narrative  bears  the  earmarlcs 
of  myth  or  legend.  The  absence  of  this  incident 
in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  does  not  render  it  improb- 


THE  GROWING  HATRED  OF  JESUS     91 

able  or  incredible,  since,  if  Lazarus  were  still  living, 
they  might  purposely  avoid  it,  as  they  omitted 
Peter's  name  in  connection  with  the  cutting  of 
Malchus's  ear.  We  know  that  the  rulers  did  try  to 
kill  Lazarus  (I2:  lo).  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  pos- 
sible to  reject  this  chapter  and  credit  the  rest  of  the 
book  with  much  value.  It  may  be  added  that  most 
of  the  critics  who  scoff  at  the  raising  of  Lazarus  ex- 
plain away  also  the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Jesus  and  the  disciples  were  conscious  of  the 
peril  of  going  back  to  Bethany  near  Jerusalem  from 
Bethany  beyond  Jordan.  Recent  events  had  made 
that  clear  (il  :  8  f.),  but  Jesus  was  not  afraid  to  go 
and  Thomas  finally  acquiesced  with  the  courage  of 
despair,  for  he  saw  only  death  for  them  all  (i  i  :  i6). 
The  delay  of  Jesus  made  it  four  days  after  the  death 
of  Lazarus  before  He  came,  but  Jesus  held  that  it 
was  all  "  for  the  glory  of  God,  that  the  Son  of  God 
may  be  glorified  thereby  "  (i  I  :  4).  Here  Jesus  calls 
Himself"  the  Son  of  God,"  though  He  usually  said 
*'  the  Son  of  man."  It  is  significant  that  Martha 
believes  that  Jesus  can  get  power  from  God  to  re- 
store Lazarus  to  hfe  (ii  :  22).  When  Jesus  claims 
to  be  Himself  the  resurrection  and  the  life  and  de- 
mands of  Martha  her  faith  in  this  claim  (ii  :  25  f.), 
she  nobly  affirms  as  high  a  creed  as  that  of  Simon 
Peter  (Matt.  16 :  16)  and  under  far  more  trying  cir- 
cumstances :  "  Yea,  Lord  !  I  have  believed  ^  that 
thou   art   the    Messiah,  the   Son    of   God,  he  that 

^  ne7ri<TT£o/ca.  It  is  her  setded  belief.  She  will  not  shrink 
in  an  hour  like  this. 


92  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Cometh  into  the  world  "  (i  i :  27).  So  Martha  ex- 
presses her  belief  that  Jesus  can  raise  her  brother 
from  the  dead  now  because  He  is  the  Son  of  God. 
Mary  is  all  tears  and  Jesus  undergoes  violent  agita- 
tion/ what  with  Martha's  courage,  His  own  emo- 
tion, Mary's  grief,  and  the  presence  of  the  Jews 
(friends  of  the  family,  but  hostile  to  Jesus).  The 
presence  of  these  Jews  and  the  anguish  of  the  sisters 
made  the  raising  of  Lazarus  a  test  of  the  claims  of 
Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  especially  after  what  He 
had  said  to  the  disciples  (11:4)  ^^^  to  Martha 
(ii  :  25).  Jesus  is  fully  conscious  of  the  issue  at 
stake,  but  was  never  more  sure  of  the  outcome,  as 
is  shown  by  His  deliberate  preparations  and  the 
prayer  of  gratitude  which  assumes  that  the  Father 
has  already  heard  Him  (i  I  :  38-42).  The  protest 
of  Martha  as  she  faces  the  actual  opening  of  the 
tomb  is  no  real  discount  to  her  noble  faith,  but  a 
woman's  instinctive  shrinking  before  the  almost 
gruesome  realities  of  the  situation.  There  are  few 
more  majestic  moments  in  the  life  of  Jesus  than 
this  when  He  calls  for  Lazarus  to  come  forth  out  of 
the  tomb.  One  may  be  sure  that  failure  would 
have  been  heralded  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Jesus 
spoke  in  a  loud  voice  so  that  those  present  might 
see   that   Lazarus   came  forth  in  response  to  His 

'  he^Spifi-qffaro  rc5  nveufxart  r<ai  irdpa^ev  iauTov,  Both 
verbs  here  express  powerful  emotion  in  the  effort  for  self- 
control.  He  shook  himself  in  the  effort  and  finally  burst 
into  tears  (^iddupuaev,  ingressive  aorist)  which  was  some  re- 
lief.    See  also  i[i^t[i(I)[ievo<i  in  verse  38. 


THE  GEOWIKG  HATEED  OF  JESUS     93 

command.     Jesus  stood  triumphant,  the  Master  of 
death  and  the  Giver  of  hfe. 

12.    The  Fury  of  the  Sanhedrin  (ii :  45-57). 

Small  wonder  is  it  that  many  of  the  Jews  who  saw 
Lazarus  step  out  "  bound  hand  and  foot  with  grave 
clothes  "  should  beheve  in  Jesus  on  the  spot  (i  1 :  45). 
Some  of  the  timid  flew  to  the  Pharisees  for  help,  if 
they  had  any,  else  they  too  must  believe  (11  :  46). 
A  crisis  was  precipitated  and  a  formal  meeting  of 
the  Sanhedrin  was  called  to  consider  what  to  do  * 
under  the  circumstances  (11  :  47).  It  was  plain  to 
see  that,  if  matters  go  on  thus,  soon  the  people  will 
proclaim  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  there  will  be  a  revo- 
lution, "  and  the  Romans  will  come  and  take  away 
both  our  place  and  our  nation"  (11:48).  This 
they  affirm  with  delicious  naivete,  placing  their  own 
offices  before  patriotism.  But  Caiaphas,  the  high 
priest,  is  bolder  still  and  has  a  plan  already.  *'  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  one  man  should  die  for  ^  the 
people,  and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not " 
(i  I  :  50).  It  is  so  easy  to  settle  a  crisis  by  making 
a  sacrifice  of  some  one  else.  His  words  were  hailed 
as  the  acme  of  wisdom  and  from  that  day  Jesus  was 
doomed  by  formal  vote  of  the  Sanhedrin  (11  :  53). 
He  is  now  a  hunted  man  and  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
weeks  till  the  inevitable  end.     Once  more  Jesus  is 

^  Tt  TToiodfiev  ;  present  indicative.  A  confession  that  they 
are  doing  nothing. 

^  oTzkp  TOO  Xaoo,  An  undoubted  use  of  oitip  in  the  sub- 
stitutionary sense  as  the  context  makes  plain. 


94  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

in  the  hills  of  Ephraitn  near  where  the  devil  tempted 
Him  after  His  baptism  (i  i  :  54).  The  passover  of 
destiny  drew  on  as  Jesus  moved  up  to  Galilee  and 
down  through  Perea  to  meet  His  Hour,  the  Hour 
for  which  He  had  come  to  earth.  The  people  who 
had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  ahead  of  Him  to  purify 
themselves  for  the  feast  sought  for  Him  and  stood 
in  groups  in  the  Temple  and  talked  of  the  great 
crisis  on  hand.  Would  Jesus  face  His  enemies  at 
the  passover  ?  On  the  whole  they  thought  He 
would  not.*  The  chief  priests  (Sadducees)  and  the 
Pharisees  (the  Sanhedrin  leaders)  had  placed  a  price 
on  His  head  and  had  advertised  for  His  capture 
(11  :  57).  Probably  a  tablet  was  already  placed  in 
the  Temple  courts  to  that  effect  like  one  discovered 
in  the  ruins.^ 

*  The  question  in  11:56  has  fir)  and  expects  the  answer 
"No." 

'Deissmann,  "  Light  firom  the  Ancient  East,"  p.  75. 


IV 

THE  SECRET  OF  JESUS 
(Chapters  12-17) 

"  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father!* 

THIS  section  of  the  Gospel  is  often  called 
the  **  Heart  of  Jesus."  Indeed  Sears 
termed  the  Fourth  Gospel  **  The  Heart  of 
Christ."  These  chapters  are  the  most  familiar  parts 
of  the  book  and  present  the  sympathetic  side  of 
Christ's  nature  quite  in  contrast  to  the  militant  note 
in  chapters  5-10,  but  quite  in  the  strain  of  chapter 
II.  Painters  of  Christ  have  taken  their  cue  almost 
entirely  from  John  12-17  to  the  neglect  of  the  mas- 
terful element  of  struggle  so  prominent  in  the  earlier 
chapters  of  John  and  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  Both 
aspects  of  His  character  are  true.*  Jesus  is  both 
the  suffering  Messiah  and  Christus  Victor.  The 
circumstances  that  surround  Jesus  are  the  most  af- 
fecting imaginable.  He  has  run  His  race  nearly  to 
the  goal.  He  knows  what  the  outcome  will  be. 
He  shrinks  from  the  awful  catastrophe  and  yet  is 
sure  of  triumph.     Meanwhile,  He   must  make  one 

*See  Selbie,  "  Aspects  of  Christ  "  (1909)  ;  Farrar,  "  The 
Life  of  Christ  as  Represented  in  Art ;  "  Matheson,  **  Studies 
in  the  Portrait  of  the  Messiah  '*  (1900)  ;  "  St.  John's  Portrait 
of  Christ  "  (1910). 

95 


96  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

more  effort  to  prepare  the  disciples  for  the  gloom  of 
His  death,  all  the  more  that  one  of  them  is  to  be- 
tray Him.  So  here  we  have  Christus  Consolator. 
He  is  trying  to  give  "  the  faith  that  looks  through 
death  "  for  the  heartening  of  the  eleven  faithful  men 
who  go  with  Him  down  to  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death/ 

I.  The  Feast  in  Christ's  Honour  at  Bethany 
(12:  1-8). 

The  Gospels  of  Mark  and  Matthew  record  this 
feast  at  Bethany  on  Tuesday  evening  (Roman  time) 
just  two  days  before  the  passover  (Matt.  26 :  2^ 
6-13;  Mark  14:1,  6-9),  while  John  apparently 
(12  :  i)  locates  it  six  days  before  the  passover.  It  is 
possible,  of  course,  that  John  may  simply  mention 
the  feast  in  connection  with  the  statement  of  Christ's 
arrival  at  Bethany  since  he  does  not  again  recur  to 
Bethany  in  his  narrative  and  so  out  of  chronological 
order.  John  does  not  state  that  it  was  at  the  house 
of  Simon  the  leper,  but  simply  has  "  they,"  but  notes 
that  Martha,  Mary  and  Lazarus  were  there.  For 
the  purpose  of  our  discussion  the  point  of  impor- 
tance is  His  justification  of  Mary's  beautiful  act  of 
high  sentiment  against  the  selfish  criticism  of  Judas 
who  rallied  all  the  apostles  to  his  view.  *'  Suffer  her 
to  keep  it  against^  the  day  of  my  burying  "(12:7). 

^  See  Bowen,  "Love  Revealed.  Meditations  on  John 
XIII-XVII"  (1884);  Burrell,  "In  the  Upper  Room" 
(191  3)  ;  Sample,  "  Christ's  Valedictory  ;  "  Swete,  "  The 
Last  Discourse  and  Prayer"  (new  edition,  19 15). 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  97 

Matthew  (26  :  1 2)  and  Mark  (14  :  8)  explain  more 
clearly  that  Jesus  meant  that  the  act  of  Mary  was  a 
preparation  for  His  burial.  She  alone  had  come  to 
understand  the  repeated  predictions  of  Jesus  about 
His  death  reported  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  es- 
pecially during  the  last  six  months.  She  probably 
did  not  understand  what  He  meant  by  resurrection, 
but  with  a  woman's  delicate  insight  Mary  of  Beth- 
any had  caught  to  some  extent  the  point  of  view 
of  Jesus,  and  she  showed  her  love  and  sympathy  be- 
fore the  burial.  The  shadow  of  the  Cross  was  thus 
at  this  feast  of  gratitude,  but  the  devil  himself  en- 
tered afresh  into  the  heart  of  Judas  (Luke  22  :  3) 
and  sent  him  in  a  resentful  rage  to  the  Sanhedrin 
who  were  in  despair  how  to  accomplish  the  death 
of  Jesus.  So  while  Mary's  heart  was  full  of  tender 
sympathy  with  Christ  about  His  death,  Judas  with 
murderous  treachery  was  plotting  to  hasten  that 
death. 

2.    The  Curiosity  of  the  Crowd  (12  :  9-1 1). 

We  must  probably  go  back  in  imagination  to  the 
Friday  afternoon  and  the  Sabbath  (cf.  John  12  :  12 
Sunday)  before  the  passover  when  Jesus  is  at  Beth- 
any, having  come  on  up  from  Jericho  (Luke  19  :  28 ; 
John  12:1).  "The  common  people"*  from  the 
city  and  from  a  distance  learned  that  Jesus  was  there 
and  they  went  out  to  see  Jesus  and  to  see  Lazarus 

^  6  0x^0?  TTO/lu?  (see  also  12:  12).  On  this  idiom  see 
Robertson,  "  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testament,"  etc., 
p.  774- 


98  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

who  had  been  raised  from  the  dead.  One  can  easily 
imagine  the  excitement  that  this  combination  created. 
The  raising  of  Lazarus  had  led  the  Sanhedrin  by- 
formal  vote  to  decide  to  put  Jesus  to  death  before 
His  arrest  or  trial  (John  li  :  53).  Now  they  have 
decided  to  put  Lazarus  to  death  also  and  for  the 
same  reason  that  because  of  him  "  many  of  the  Jews 
went  and  beheved  on  Jesus  "  (John  12  :  10  f.).  Now 
all  other  pubhc  questions  sank  out  of  sight.  The 
one  goal  before  the  Sanhedrin  was  to  put  Jesus  out 
of  the  way  and  all  others,  if  necessary,  who  clung  to 
Him. 

3.     The  Messianic  Demonstration  (12  :  12-19). 

It  is  Sunday  morning,  not  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
when  Jesus  by  formal  act  announces  His  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews.  He  allows  the  multi- 
tudes (chiefly  from  Galilee  and  Perea)  which  follow 
Him  from  the  hills  around  Bethany  and  which  meet 
Him  as  they  come  out  of  Jerusalem  (John  12  :  13) 
to  proclaim  Him.  A  year  before  this  the  crowd 
near  Bethsaida-Julias  had  wished  to  do  this  very 
thing  and  to  make  Jesus  the  King  Messiah,  but  He 
would  not  then  allow  them  to  do  it  (John  6:  15). 
But  now  it  is  clear  to  all  who  believe  in  Jesus  that 
the  crisis  has  come  and  that  the  policy  of  secrecy  is 
over.  The  crowd  at  Jericho  had  felt  that  on  this 
visit  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem  "  the  Kingdom  of  God 
was  immediately  to  appear"  (Luke  19:11).  In- 
deed, Jesus  had  made  deliberate  preparation  for  this 
Messianic  demonstration  (Matt.  21 :  2;  Mark  11  :  if.; 


THE  SEOEET  OF  JESUS  99 

Luke  ig:2g{.).  Jesus  had  in  mind  the  prophecy 
of  Zechariah  9:9:  "  Behold  the  King  is  coming  to 
thee,  just  and  saving;  he  is  meek  and  riding  on  a 
beast  of  burden  and  a  young  foal."  Neither  the  dis- 
ciples nor  the  populace  seem  to  have  understood 
the  significance  of  this  detail  (John  12  :  16).  It 
was  only  later,  as  so  often,  that  they  came  to  see 
what  was  the  appropriateness  of  this  humble  steed 
in  the  Triumphal  Entry.  The  people  themselves 
were  stirred  to  act  by  the  enthusiasm  over  the  rais- 
ing of  Lazarus  as  John  (12  :  17  f.)  alone  explains  and 
thus  enables  us  to  understand  the  Synoptic  account 
of  the  sudden  outburst  (Dods,  "  Expositor's  Greek 
Testament,"  m  loco).  The  picture  of  Jesus  on  the 
young  ass  was  probably  not  very  majestic  and  little 
calculated  to  set  a  crowd  so  ablaze.  And  yet  they 
cried :  "  Hosanna :  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  even  the  King  of  Israel "  (John 
12:  13).  They  seized  the  fronds  on  the  palm  trees 
which  grew  on  the  road  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem 
and  carried  them  because  palm  branches  were  a  rec- 
ognized symbol  of  victory  and  joy.*  It  was  all  sim- 
ple enough  in  comparison  with  a  triumph  of  a  Roman 
general  in  Rome  with  his  chariots,  his  trophies,  and 
his  captives  in  a  procession  of  great  grandeur. 
But  Christ  will  lead  Paul  in  His  triumphal  train'* 
and  the  mightiest  of  earth  in  course  of  time.  There 
were  probably  some  who  mocked  as  they  swept  on 
round  Olivet  and  down  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat 

^  Cf.  Pausanias,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  48  ;   i  Mace.  13:5. 
'  2  Cor.  2  :  14. 


100  THE  DIVIOTTY  OF  CHEIST 

towards  the  City  of  the  Great  King.  Some  of  the 
Pharisees  did  try  to  make  Jesus  ashamed  of  this  spec- 
tacular performance  of  tiie  rabble  (Luke  19:  39  f.). 
But  Jesus  is  determined  to  make  public  defiance  of 
the  Sanhedrin  who  had  been  so  anxious  to  learn 
who  He  claimed  to  be  (John  10 :  24).  Now  they 
know.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  burst  all 
bounds  (Luke  19  :  37  f.).  The  Pharisees  indeed  well 
understood  the  meaning  of  this  public  outpouring 
of  the  people  who  openly  hailed  Jesus  as  the  Mes- 
siah. It  meant  that  He  was  the  Hero  of  the  masses 
here  at  the  passover  and  that  the  Sanhedrin  were 
helpless  to  carry  out  their  plans  of  murderous  re- 
venge while  this  multitude  of  sympathizers  were  on 
hand.  At  the  best  they  must  postpone  their  plans 
to  kill  Jesus  till  after  the  passover  (Luke  19:47^ ; 
22 :  6).  At  the  worst  it  meant  the  complete  failure 
of  all  their  plans  and  the  triumph  of  Jesus  over  them. 
Some  of  the  Pharisees  now  felt  this  to  be  the  case 
and  in  a  burst  of  despair  blamed  the  other  Pharisees 
for  the  victory  of  Christ :  "  Behold  how  ye  prevail 
nothing ;  lo,  the  world  is  gone  after  him  "  (John 
12  :  19).  It  did  look  so,  for  the  hills  were  covered 
with  the  crowds  that  cheered  Christ  as  He  moved 
on  into  Jerusalem  and  into  the  very  courts  of  the 
Temple  where  the  boys  *  echoed  the  cry  of  the 
throng  right  in  the  ears  of  the  Sadducees  (chief 
priests)  and  Pharisees  (scribes)  who  were  "  moved 
with  indignation"  (Matt.  2i:iof.,  14-17).  We 
need  not  suppose  that  this  motley  crowd  of  enthu- 
*Tou9  iraldai  (Matt.  21  :  15). 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  101 

siasts  understood  the  spiritual  character  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  whose  advent  they  were  hailing  or 
dreamed  that  Jesus  was  not  going  to  be  the  polit- 
ical Messiah  that  they  thought  He  was  now  an- 
nouncing Himself  to  be.  Even  the  Apostles  them- 
selves had  not  yet  come  to  see  the  real  truth  about 
Christ  and  the  Kingdom.  Time  and  the  march  of 
events  could  alone  prepare  their  hearts  for  the  en- 
lightening work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (cf.  Acts  2-3). 
Even  to-day  scholars  find  it  difficult  to  interpret 
rightly  the  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  the  King- 
dom of  God  and  His  Messiahship.  Some,  hke 
Schweitzer/  would  make  the  outlook  of  Jesus  to  be 
purely  eschatological  and  cataclysmic  with  the  re- 
sult that  Jesus  expected  to  the  last  what  did  not 
come  and  died  a  broken  and  disappointed  man. 
But  the  Gospel  of  John  certainly  powerfully  pre- 
sents the  idea  of  the  present  possession  of  eternal 
life  in  Christ  as  the  heart  of  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  The  Kingdom  is  ♦•  within  "^  men's  hearts, 
we  learn  even  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  (Luke  17  :  21). 
It  is  at  bottom  the  rule  of  God  in  the  heart  of  the 
individual,  a  present  reality  which  is  eternal  in  its 
growth  and  power.  There  are  external  features 
connected  with  its  expansion  in  society  and  eschato- 
logical features  in  its  consummation.     It  is,  however. 


tt 


*"The  Quest  for  the  Historical  Jesus."     So  also  Lake, 
The  Stewardship  of  Faith  "  ( 1 9 1  5).     But  Sanday,  **  Chris- 

tologies :  Ancient    and    Modern,"  argues  against  this  purely 

ad  interim  ethics. 

*  ^vToj  never  means  "  among." 


102  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

a  wholly  one-sided  view  to  limit  the  horizon  of  Jesus 
on  this  subject  to  that  of  His  Pharisaic  contempo- 
raries. The  Jewish  apocalyptic  literature  of  the 
time  does  throw  undoubted  hght  on  the  terminology 
of  Jesus  and  of  the  New  Testament  writers ;  but  we 
are  not  at  liberty  to  make  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  a 
merely  mistaken  apocalyptic  dreamer  who  was  led 
away  by  too  long  perusal  of  this  type  of  literature 
and  by  brooding  over  the  wrongs  of  His  nation  till 
the  popular  enthusiasm  swept  Him  off  His  feet.  We 
must  look  at  all  the  aspects  of  this  subject.*  The 
Gospel  of  John  is  a  lucid  and  powerful  exposition 
of  the  spiritual  aspect  and  present  reality  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  We  must  distinguish  therefore 
between  popular  theology  on  the  subject  and  the 
ideals  of  Jesus  as  He  proclaimed  Himself  the  Mes- 
siah of  Israel. 

4.  The  Agitation  of  Jesus  at  the  Coming  of 
the  Greeks  (12  120-36). 

It  was  not  an  unknown  thing  for  devout  Greeks 

*  See  Bruce,  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  "  (1893)  ;  Dcwick, 
"Primitive  Christian  Eschatology "  (19 12);  Goodspud, 
"Israel's  Messianic  Hope  to  the  Time  of  Jesus  "  (1900)  ; 
Haupt,  "  Die  eschatologischen  Aussagen  in  den  synoptischen 
Evangelien  "  (1895)  ;  Jackson,  "  The  Eschatology  of  Jesus  " 
(1913);  Muirhead,  "  The  Eschatology  of  Jesus  "  (1904)  ; 
Oesterley,  "The  Apocalypse  of  Jesus "  (19 12);  Sanday, 
"The  Life  of  Christ  in  Recent  Research  "  (1907)  ;  Scott, 
"  The  Kingdom  and  the  Messiah  "  (191 1)  ;  Sharman,  "  The 
Teaching  of  Jesus  Concerning  the  Future  "  (1909)  ;  Walker, 
"  The  Cross  and  the  Kingdom  "  (1902)  ;  Winstanley,  "Jesus 
and  the  Future"  ('9 13);  Worsley,  "The  Apocalypse  of 
Jesus"  (19 1 2). 


THE  SECRET  OF  JESUS  103 

to  attend  worship  in  Jerusalem.  In  the  Acts  we 
find  these  devout  Greeks  and  Romans  in  most  of 
the  cities.  They  have  not  broken  with  their  race 
connections  and  yet  they  attend  worship  in  the 
synagogues  and  are  open  for  the  reception  of  the 
gospel.  These  men  may  have  been  proselytes  from 
Decapolis  or  GaHlee  (Dods,  "  Expositor's  Greek 
Testament,"  in  loco).  Their  courteous  request '  to 
Philip  means  more  than  the  mere  desire  to  "  see  "  ^ 
Jesus  as  a  spectacle  which  they  could  easily  do  as 
He  publicly  taught  in  the  Temple.  They  wish  to 
make  a  call  on  Jesus,  to  "  visit  "  ^  Him  in  a  formal 
interview.  Jesus  had  certainly  been  heard  by  Greeks 
in  Decapolis,  in  Iturea,  GaUlee,  and  Phoenicia.  But 
this  formal  request  from  Greeks  to  interview  Jesus 
in  Jerusalem  puzzled  Philip  greatly,  for  it  raised  the 
whole  problem  of  race  prejudice  and  the  relation  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  to  the  Gentiles.  Philip  sought 
counsel  with  Andrew,  who  had  shown  himself  to  be 
a  man  of  wisdom.  But  even  Andrew  was  not  able 
to  solve  this  knotty  question.  If  we  are  surprised 
at  the  sensitive  narrowness  of  these  two  apostles,  we 
need  only  to  recall  the  hatred  between  Jews  and 
Samaritans,  the  reluctance  of  Peter  on  the  housetop 
at   Joppa   (Acts    lo)   and   his    timidity  before  the 

^  The  form  of  the  Greek  is  a  bit  more  abrupt  than  the 
English  translation,  dikojiev  is  present  indicative  and  means 
"  we  desire,"  but  not  here  our  blunt  "  we  want." 

2  iSeXv. 

^  From  videoy  to  see.  For  **  see "  in  another  sense  cf. 
John  3:3,**  See  the  Kingdom." 


104  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Judaizers  at  Caesarea  (Gal.  2:  iiff.),  and  the  in- 
tensity of  race  feeling  to-day  among  Christians 
themselves  as  seen  in  various  sections  and  cities  of 
the  United  States.  The  whole  city  of  Jerusalem 
was  ringing  with  talk  about  Jesus  after  the  Triumphal 
Entry.  There  is  no  reason  for  surprise  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Greeks.  Our  surprise  is  at  the  hesita- 
tion of  Phihp  and  Andrew.  But  they  brought  the 
problem  to  Jesus,  as  was  proper,  though  we  do  not 
know  whether  they  brought  the  Greeks  along  also. 
If  Philip  and  Andrew  came  in  perplexity,  it  was 
probably  greatly  increased  by  the  violent  agitation 
which  Jesus  displayed  as  the  result  of  their  inquiry. 
A  small  match  or  a  spark  can  set  off  a  powder-mill. 
Volcanoes  of  emotion  are  smothering  in  all  of  us. 
Jesus  had  faced  the  hate  of  races  for  each  other. 
He  loved  the  whole  world  and  had  come  to  save 
men  of  the  whole  world  (John  3:  16;  4:35-41; 
10 :  16).  But  He  knew  also,  as  His  disciples  did 
not  know,  that  nothing  but  His  death  on  the  Cross 
would  ever  bring  men  of  varied  races  together  into 
one  flock  under  one  Shepherd.  The  missionary 
enterprise  is  a  corollary  of  the  Cross.  Without  that 
there  is  no  message  and  no  hope.  Instead  of  giving 
a  direct  answer  to  Phihp  and  Andrew  Jesus  pro- 
ceeded to  expound  the  philosophy  of  self-sacrifice 
by  the  parable  of  the  grain  of  wheat  and  the  ear 
that  follows  its  death.  All  at  once  in  heart  Jesus 
faces  the  Cross  in  an  agony  of  suffering  that  causes 
a  momentary  shrinking  like  that  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane  as  recorded  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  105 

He  sees  His  hour  for  glorification  by  death  (i2 :  23) 
and  His  soul  is  troubled  and  cries  out  for  rescue, 
but  with  instant  acquiescence  in  the  Father's  will 
(12  :  27  f.).  Here  the  human  side  of  Jesus  comes 
out  strongly.  He  is  no  Docetic  Man.  At  the 
crisis  of  His  earthly  career  Jesus  realizes  full  well 
the  real  situation :  "  For  this  cause  came  I  unto  this 
hour."  He  had  come  to  earth  at  all  in  order  that 
He  might  meet  this  hour  and  conquer  death  for  the 
redemption  of  men.  But  He  trembles  for  the  mo- 
ment on  the  brink  of  the  dread  leap  into  the  dark 
abyss.  He  finds  comfort  in  the  word  "  glorify."  * 
"  Father,  glorify  thy  name."  The  Father  answered 
audibly  as  He  did  at  the  baptism  and  at  the  trans- 
figuration, two  great  crises  in  the  Saviour's  ministry : 
"  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again." 
It  is  the  "  glory  "  of  death  that  is  here  promised 
Jesus,  and  He  so  understands  it.  That  was  the  topic 
of  conversation  with  Jesus  and  Moses  and  Elijah  on 
the  mount  of  transfiguration  when  the  glory  of  God 
covered  the  scene.  The  people  do  not  understand 
this  message,  though  they  hear  a  sound  (John 
12  :  29),  but  Jesus  is  heartened  to  go  on  with  His 
task  and  His  talk :  "  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this 
world :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast 
out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up^  from  the  earth,  will 
draw^  all  men  unto  myself"  (12  :  31  f.).  In  the  death 
of  Jesus,  Satan,  who  is  the  prince  of  this  world  and 

1  do^d^etv,     Cf.  86^a  for  the  Shekinah. 

^  uipwdo)  can  only  refer  to  the  Cross.     Cf.  8  :  28. 


106  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

who  sets  the  standard  by  which  men  hate  each 
other  and  kill  each  other,  has  his  power  broken. 
This  Jesus  sees.  By  the  Cross  Jesus  will,  like  the 
magnet  of  the  world,  draw  all  kinds  of  men,  Jew 
and  Greek,  bond  and  free,  male  and  female,  to  love 
Him  and  to  love  each  other.  This  Paul  claimed 
(Eph.  2)  did  come  to  pass  by  the  Cross  of  Christ 
which  broke  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  be- 
tween Jew  and  Gentile.  It  is  true  in  spite  of  the 
riot  of  hate  now  running  over  the  earth  in  the  world 
war.  This  will  pass  and  peace  will  come.  Jesus 
shall  yet  reign  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Then,  as  now, 
many  did  not  desire  this  sort  of  a  Son  of  man  who 
died  on  the  Cross  (12  :  34).  The  suffering  Messiah 
formed  no  part  of  the  popular  theology  as  the  nev/ 
theology  to-day  has  no  room  for  the  atonement  and 
is  ashamed  of  the  Cross  of  Jesus  as  were  the  Jews 
and  Greeks  in  Paul's  day  (i  Cor.  I  :  23).  But  Jesus 
warned  the  people  not  to  sin  against  the  light. 

5.     Cowardly  Disciples  (12  :  37-43). 

The  warning  was  needed.  Some  even  of  the 
rulers  who  had  come  to  believe  on  Jesus  were  yet 
afraid  to  take  their  stand  on  His  side  "  because  of 
the  Pharisees,"  "  lest  they  be  put  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue." They  cared  more  for  social  standing  with 
their  "  set "  than  for  loyalty  to  Jesus.  They  cared 
more  for  "  the  glory  " '  from  men  than  for  glory 
from  God.  Their  eyes  were  blinded  by  the  God  of 
this  world  so  that  they  were  unwiUing  to  step  out 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  107 

into  the  open  on  the  side  of  Christ  while  He  was 
unpopular  with  the  Pharisees.  Jesus,  as  the  Son 
of  God,  the  Saviour  from  sin  to  His  death  on  the 
Cross,  is  still  taboo  in  many  modern  religious  circles 
who  practise  intellectual  and  religious  ostracism  as 
effectually  as  did  the  Pharisees  of  old.  In  some 
modern  scholastic  circles  it  is  unscholarly  and  un- 
scientific to  advocate  the  deity  of  Jesus  or  the  value 
of  the  Cross.  They  laugh  at  the  idea  that  Isaiah 
saw  the  glory  of  Jesus  (John  12  :  41)  or  that  there 
is  much  glory  for  any  one  to  see  to-day  save  that 
of  a  well-meaning,  but  wholly  misguided  Galilean 
peasant  who  came  to  imagine  that  He  could  "  save  " 
mankind  and  whose  martyrdom  led  His  followers  to 
"  deify  "  Him  and  so  to  start  a  new  superstition 
which  the  world  is  rapidly  outgrowing  by  modern 
knowledge  which  is  the  only  Hght  of  man.  And 
John  (or  the  author  of  this  Gospel),  they  say,  is 
simply  the  worst  of  the  "  deifiers  "  of  Jesus. 

6.    An  Epitome  of  Christ*s  Position  (12  :  44-50). 

John  represents  Jesus  as  giving  this  summary  in 
one  address,  though  some  critics  argue  that  it  is  a 
gathering  up  of  teachings  on  various  occasions, 
though  why  it  is  impossible  for  Him  to  have  said  it 
at  this  time  is  not  clear.  Each  sentence  presents 
sharply  the  claims  of  Jesus  about  Himself  which 
Jesus  now  boldly  states.  Faith  in  Jesus  is  faith 
in  God  who  sent  Him.  Seeing  Jesus  is  seeing  God. 
His  mission  is  to  bring  light  to  set  men  free  from 
darkness.     Obedience  to  Christ  is  the  way  to  escape 


108  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

judgment.  Rejection  of  Christ  is  rejection  of  God. 
He  has  the  Father's  commandment  which  brings 
hfe  eternal.  All  of  these  things  Jesus  had  spoken 
at  other  times  and  they  occur  here  and  there  in  the 
Gospel  of  John  before  this  period.  Now  Jesus 
summed  the  case  up  between  Him  and  the  world 
which  was  rejecting  Him.  There  is  no  escape  from 
the  issue  of  Jesus.  He  confronts  every  man  in  all 
the  world  through  all  the  ages.  He  challenges 
every  man  to-day.  What  think  you  of  Jesus  the 
Christ?  What  will  you  do  with  Jesus  the  Saviour? 
What  shall  Jesus  the  Judge  do  with  you  ?  Dr. 
Philip  S.  Moxom  {North  Amefican  Review,  Sep- 
tember, 1916,  "  A  Modern  Conception  of  God," 
p.  405)  says :  *•  But  the  Jesus  of  the  Fourth  Gos- 
pel is  a  sublime  egotist,  sublime  but  an  egotist, 
wholly  unlike  the  Jesus  of  the  Synoptists."  This  is 
a  common  superficial  view  of  some  critics.  One 
need  only  refer  to  Matthew  1 1 :  25-30 ;  Luke  10 : 
21-24;  Matthew  28:18-20;  Luke  24:44-49. 
And  then  there  is  the  voice  of  the  Father  at  the 
baptism,  the  voice  of  the  Father  on  the  mount  of 
transfiguration,  the  assumption  of  divine  power  to 
forgive  sins  (Luke  5  :  21  fif.),  besides  many  similar 
passages.  The  assumption  that  the  Synoptic  Gos- 
pels present  only  the  humanity  of  Jesus  while  the 
deity  of  Jesus  appears  only  in  John's  Gospel  is  ut- 
terly false.  Both  features  appear  in  Mark  and  in  Q 
(the  Logia  of  criticism).  The  shading  of  the  picture 
is  different,  but  the  Person  is  the  same  in  all  the 
Gospels. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  109 

7.     An  Example  of  Humility  (13  :  1-20). 

The  Gospel  of  John  passes  by  the  last  day  in  the 
public  ministry  of  Jesus  in  the  Temple,  that  Tuesday 
of  the  great  debate  and  the  great  eschatological  dis- 
course on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  all  so  fully  presented 
in  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  It  is  Thursday  evening 
(Roman  time,  beginning  of  Jewish  Friday)  that  John 
takes  up  the  story.  Jesus  is  in  the  upper  room 
prepared  for  Him  by  His  directions  to  Peter  and 
John  (Luke  22 :  8)  and  possibly  the  home  of  Mary, 
the  mother  of  John  Mark  (Acts  12:  12).  This  is 
probably  the  regular  passover  meal  at  the  customary 
time  and  not  an  anticipatory  meal  twenty-four  hours 
ahead.*  Jesus  had  looked  forward  with  eagerness 
(Luke  22:  15  f.)  to  this  last  passover  meal  with  the 
men  who  had  been  with  Him  in  His  trials  ^  (Luke 
22  :  28).  He  was  Himself  the  true  Paschal  Lamb  to 
be  offered  up  before  twenty-four  hours  have  passed. 
But  a  rude  shock  had  come  to  Christ  when  He 
found  the  Twelve  contending  for  primacy  at  the 
table,  each  one  considering  himself  entitled  to  the 
post  of  honour  (Luke  22  :  24).  They  were,  hke  all 
Orientals  and  some  Westerners,  sensitive  on  this 
point  of  etiquette  and  had  wrangled  twice  before 
over  the  question  of  rank  among  themselves  as  they 
discussed  their  plans  for  a  temporal  kingdom  which 
was   never   to   be  (Mark  9:34;    Luke  18 :  35  ff.). 

*  The  Gospel  of  John  is  in  real  agreement  with  the  Synop- 
tic Gospels  on  this  point  when  properly  interpreted.  See  my 
note  in  Broadus'  **  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,"  pp.  253-257, 

'  Tteipafffiolis.     Same  word  is  used  for  temptations. 


110  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

How  they  finally  reclined  we  do  not  know  except 
that  John  was  next  to  Jesus  and  leaned  back  on  His 
bosom.  Da  Vinci  in  his  great  picture  has  James  on 
the  other  side,  an  allusion  to  the  ambitious  request 
of  James  and  John.  The  strife  evidently  continued 
during  the  meal  and  those  who  were  disappointed 
were  resentful  in  look  and  word.  The  devil  was 
already  in  the  heart  of  Judas  who  knew  what  he 
was  going  to  do  this  very  night  (John  13:2)  and 
he  was  trying  to  get  an  entrance  into  the  hearts  of 
the  rest  through  jealousy  by  the  eye-gate  and  ear- 
gate.  Jesus  is  conscious  *  that  His  hour  is  near  and 
arises  ^  during  supper  ^  and  begins  to  wash  the  dis- 
ciples' feet,  evidently  because  the  dissatisfaction 
keeps  up.  It  is  hard  to  stop  such  an  unpleasant- 
ness. Each  one  wishes  the  last  word  and  the  last 
look.  The  behaviour  of  Peter  is  characteristic. 
But  Jesus  does  not  leave  His  object-lesson  to  teach 
its  own  lesson.  He  explains  it  to  this  kindergarten 
class.  "  Ye  call  me,  Teacher,  and.  Lord :  ^  and  ye 
say  well ;  for  so  I  am."  Jesus  asserts  and  repeats 
(I3:i3f.)  His  claim  to  be  "the  Teacher  and  the 
Lord."  He  is  here  Hke  Socrates  with  his  dis- 
ciples, but  far  more.  He  is  the  Master  in  teaching 
and  the  Lord  of  life.  He  has  given  them  an  "  ex- 
ample "  ^  of  humility  and  commands  their  imitation 

*  Note  eldax^  twice  (13:1,  3).  '  ^yetperat  (13  :  4). 

'  deiTTvou  ytvofiivou  (13  :  2). 

*'o  di!id(TkaXo<s  kai  'o  ubpto<;  as   titles,  and  not  in  apposi- 
tion with  [IS. 

^  UTTodeiyfia  like  the  copy-book  for  writing  beneath  the  copy. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  111 

of  their  Master.  They  greatly  needed  this  lesson 
then  and  there,  given  right  in  the  midst  of  the 
solemn  celebration  of  this  last  passover  meal.  An 
apostle '  such  as  they  were  is  not  greater  than  the 
one  who  sent  him.  Jesus  has  here  punctured  offi- 
cial and  ecclesiastical  pride  for  all  time.  But  men 
have  missed  the  point  of  Jesus  in  this  very  "  ex- 
ample "  and  some  have  imagined  that  Jesus  meant 
them  literally  to  wash  each  other's  feet  as  a  church 
ordinance.  Cessation  of  strife  and  wrangling  and 
cooperative  service  in  love  is  the  way  to  "  copy  " 
Christ's  example  of  humility.  The  heart  of  Jesus  is 
greatly  moved,  for  here  is  Judas  who  has  already 
bargained  to  sell  his  Master  to  the  Sanhedrin  for 
thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  a  slave.  "  He 
that  eateth  my  bread  lifteth  up  his  heel  against  me  " 
(Ps.  40 :  9).  Jesus  quoted  these  words  and  Judas 
must  have  winced  inwardly.  In  all  countries  it  is 
considered  a  gross  breach  of  hospitality  to  eat  one's 
bread  and  then  to  act  the  part  of  an  enemy.  The 
Arabs  to-day  count  it  a  covenant  of  friendship  if 
one  takes  salt  in  another  man's  tent.  It  was  so  with 
the  Jews.2  Jesus  makes  it  plain  beforehand  so  that 
the  treachery  of  Judas  may  be  all  the  plainer. 

8.    The  Anxiety  of  Jesus  (13  :  21-38). 
Jesus  is  "  troubled  in  spirit  "  ^  as  He  was  by  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  (ii  :  33).     He  has  said:  "  I  know 

*  dnoffToXog  (13  •  16). 

'  Cf.  Trumbull,  "  Blood  Covenant,"  p.  3 1 3  ;  "  Oriental 
Life,"  p.  361.  ^  kTapaxOfj  tw  Tcveu/iart, 


112  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

whom  I  have  chosen"  (13:  18).  He  assumes  His 
share  of  the  responsibihty  for  the  selection  of  Judas, 
but  that  fact  in  no  wise  reheves  Judas  of  his  guilt. 
We  are  not  mere  automata,  however  much  of  mys- 
tery surrounds  us  in  this  world  of  law.  A  sort  of 
stupefaction  seems  to  rest  on  the  Apostles,  for  they 
are  completely  taken  aback  by  the  specific  statement 
that  the  betrayer  was  one  of  their  number  (13  :  22). 
They  even  fail  to  grasp  the  point  of  the  sign  of  the 
sop  which  Jesus  gives  to  Judas  or  to  understand 
the  word  by  which  Jesus  reveals  to  Judas  knowledge 
of  his  treachery  (13:  23-29).  They  are  all  so  intent 
in  their  suspicions  ^  about  each  other  and  protesta- 
tions of  innocence  that  they  fail  to  see  what  is 
plainly  before  their  eyes.  But  now  Judas  is  gone 
out  into  the  night  on  his  hellish  mission  (13:  30) 
and  Jesus  turns  to  the  rest  with  something  of  the 
feeling  of  a  hen  who  has  lost  one  of  her  brood  to 
the  hawk  who  has  scooped  it  away.  He  had  so 
felt  about  Jerusalem  (Matt.  23  :  37)  and  now  Satan 
has  made  complete  conquest  of  Judas  (John  13  :  27). 
The  fact  that  Jesus  knew  all  along  that  Judas  was  a 
devil  (6 :  70)  does  not  lighten  His  sorrow,  though  it 
does  relieve  Jesus  of  any  moral  responsibility 
(17  :  12)  for  this  ♦•  son  of  perdition."  Indeed,  Jesus 
turns  to  the  glorification  of  the  Cross  with  a  sense 
of  relief  as  Judas  goes  away  from  their  number.' 

These  discourses  in  John   13:31   to  17  :  26  bear 
the   same  relation  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  that  the 

*  e,3}.£7:ov.      Kept  looking  in  their  perplexity  (^dnopoufxevot), 
"  Dods,  **  Expositor's  Greek  Testament,"  in  loco. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  113 

eschatological  discourse  does  to  the  Synoptic  Gos- 
pels (Matt.  24,  25  ;  Mark  13;  Luke  21)  and  the  two 
hnes  of  thought  are  complementary  (Westcott,  in 
loco).  The  one  deals  with  the  outward  aspects  of 
the  kingdom  in  the  future,  the  other  with  the  in- 
ward growth  of  the  soul.  The  ♦*  glorification  "  *  of  the 
Son  of  man  and  of  God  by  the  death  of  Jesus  now 
fills  His  heart.  This  view  of  His  death  transcends 
all  the  petty  meannesses  of  His  enemies.  Jesus 
even  says  (13 :  32)  that  God  will  take  up  the  glori- 
fied humanity  of  the  Son  of  man  into  His  own  be- 
ing (Westcott,  in  loco).  Henceforth  the  humanity 
of  Jesus  will  be  an  added  glory  to  the  Son  of  God 
(cf.  Phil.  2:9-11).  But,  after  this  exalted  word 
about  His  own  relation  with  the  Father  in  His 
death,  Jesus  turns  again  to  the  Eleven  who  are  left 
with  a  promise  that  they  shall  follow  Him  after  a 
while  and  with  the  command  meanwhile  to  love^ 
one  another  as  He  has  loved  them  and  so  carry  out 
"  the  new  commandment,"  ^  an  eleventh  command- 
ment or  summary  of  the  Law.  This  very  night 
they  have  already  shown  jealousy  towards  each 
other.  The  key  to  the  work  of  the  kingdom,  after 
Jesus  is  gone,  lies  just  here  in  the  love  of  Christians 
for  each  other.  But  Peter  passes  by  this  command 
and  is  curious  to  know  whither  He  is  going  and 

*  The  aorist  tense  sdo^dffdrj  (13  :  31)  treats  the  death  cf 
Christ  as  an  accomplished  fact,  the  glory  of  which  Jesus  al- 
ready enjoys  by  anticipation. 

"  The  word  dyaivdrs  is  here  used,  the  noblest  love, 

'Cf.  I  John  2:  7-1 1. 


114  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

why  he  cannot  follow  now  since  he  is  willing  to  lay 
down  his  hfe  for  Jesus  (13  :  36  f.).  So  Hghtly  does 
the  chief  Apostle  take  the  death  of  Christ  and  His 
own  courage  in  the  face  of  it.  It  is  a  painful  thing 
to  perform  a  surgical  operation  on  a  man's  pride, 
but  Jesus  does  it  (13:38).  However,  Peter  does 
not  stand  alone  in  his  boasting,  for  all  the  rest  join 
in  the  promise  of  fidehty  till  death  (Matt.  26 :  35), 
though  Peter  shows  more  vehemence  (Mark  14  :  31). 
Luke  reports  Jesus  as  revealing  that  Satan  has  been 
allowed  *  to  "  sift  you  ^  as  wheat "  and  that  Jesus 
has  made  special  suppHcation  for  Peter  ^  (Luke 
22  :  31  f.).  The  anxiety  of  Jesus  is  not  mere  nerv- 
ous apprehension.  No  one  knows  the  power  of 
the  devil  over  men  as  does  He  for  the  very  reason 
that  He  has  vanquished  him.  The  prescience  of 
Jesus  was  meant  to  put  the  Apostles  on  guard. 
His  prayer  for  Peter  will  bring  him  back  after  his 
fall  (Luke  22  :  32).     Presumption  is  merely  weakness. 

9.  A  Plea  for  Loyalty  After  Christ's  Death 
(14:  1-15:  Tl). 

Jesus  understands  the  disciples  better  than  they 
do  themselves.  They  have  made  the  most  solemn 
avowals  of  fealty  which  Jesus  distrusts,  but  He  is 
not  in  despair  about  them.  The  shock  of  His  sur- 
render when  arrested,  and  His  trial  and  death  will  be 

^  i^TjT-^ffaTo.  **  Got  permission  by  asking."  Satan  was 
allowed  to  test  them  all  and  they  all  "  left  him  and  fled  ** 
(Mark  14  :  50). 

*  Satan  was  able  **  to  sift  "  (tow  ctvidaai)  them  all. 

'  ;re^{  cou. 


THE  SEOEET  OF  JESUS  115 

greater  than  they  can  bear.  They  need  supreme 
courage  and  help.  So  Jesus  talks  with  these  eleven 
men  in  the  Upper  Room  which  became  to  them  a 
sort  of  Holy  of  Hohes  in  their  memories  of  it.  He 
lays  bare  to  them  the  secrets  of  His  heart.  He 
knows  that  they  will  not  understand  it  all,  but  it 
will  stick  in  their  minds  and  come  back  to  them  by 
the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Words  of  consolation 
do  not  prevent  trouble,  but  sympathy  in  the  pres- 
ence of  death  is  necessary  to  one's  breath.  In  a 
way  this  is  Christ's  farewell  talk  to  this  group  of 
men  about  whom  His  hopes  for  the  future  of  the 
kingdom  centre.  He  has  done  His  best  with  them 
and  He  is  not  sorry  that  He  chose  them  rather  than 
others.  They  have  their  limitations  and  weak- 
nesses, but  they  possess  varied  virtues  and  now  the 
supreme  test  of  their  lives  has  come.  It  is  an  un- 
avoidable test  for  them,  one  that  Jesus  has  long 
foreseen  and  for  which  He  has  tried  to  prepare  their 
minds  and  hearts.  A  mother  loves  to  spare  her 
children  trouble,  if  she  can,  but  the  time  comes 
when  they  too  must  meet  the  issues  of  hfe  and 
death.  So  Jesus,  in  full  view  of  His  death,  pleads 
for  the  same  faith  *  in  Himself  that  they  have  in  God 
(14  :  i).  This  is,  to  be  sure,  putting  Himself  on  a 
par  with  God  as  the  object  of  faith,  but  they  should 
be  used  to  that  idea  by  now.  This  is  the  real  cure 
for  the  disturbance  2  of  heart  which  they  now  feel. 

^  This  is   true  whether  Tuarsbezs  be  taken  as  indicative  or 
imperative  or  one  one  way  and  the  other  another  way. 
'  TapaffffiaOu).     Cf.  our  palpitation  of  the  heart. 


116  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Jesus  promises  a  place  for  each  of  them  in  His 
Father's  house  (14:2).  That  is  Christ's  picture  of 
heaven,  at  home  with  God.  He  promises  also  to 
come  back  and  to  take  them  to  that  home  to  be 
with  Him  in  the  Father's  house  (14:  3).  This  is 
the  real  answer  to  Peter's  query  in  13:  36.  It  is 
not  clear  whether  Jesus  here  means  death  or  His 
own  second  coming.  Both  are  true  comings  of 
Christ  for  His  own.  Thomas  takes  up  the  state- 
ment of  Jesus  about  knowing  the  way,  for  he,  like 
Peter,  is  puzzled  about  the  way  to  the  Father's 
house  (14  :  4-6).  Modern  science  has  made  heaven 
seem  very  intangible  and  far  away  for  many  people 
who  sympathize  with  the  scepticism  of  Thomas 
about  the  place  and  the  way.  The  answer  of  Jesus 
to  Thomas  is  the  answer  to  sceptics  to-day.  It  lies 
in  the  realm  of  personality.  The  Father  is  spirit 
and  that  means  personality.  Jesus  Himself  is  the 
way  to  the  Father,  the  way  here  on  earth  and  the 
bridge  to  heaven  at  last.  These  words  to  Thomas 
make  Christianity  inteUigible  to  the  common  man 
in  a  world  of  wonder  and  mystery.  Let  the  phi- 
losophers speculate  about  monism.  Let  the  scien- 
tists find  out  all  they  can  about  matter.  Let  the 
theologians  theorize  about  the  purposes  and  nature 
of  God.  Jesus  brings  God  into  the  vision  of  man 
so  that  he  can  see  and  follow  and  live.  "  I  am  the 
way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life." '  Jesus  is  each 
one  of  these  wonderful  things.     He  is  all  of  them 

*  ^Eyw  eifit  7)  0^09  RaX  ij  dXTJOsta  kai  ij  t^wT],     Note  sepa- 
rate article  each  time. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  117 

together.  He  is  the  Incarnation  of  God,  the  Per- 
sonification of  truth,  the  Energy  of  life.  The  proof 
of  this  marvellous  claim  can  be  put  to  the  test  in 
each  man's  life.  Take  a  drunken  convict  like  S.  H. 
Hadley,  a  drunken  dealer  in  counterfeit  money  Hke 
Harry  Monroe,  a  drunken  hobo  like  Mel.  E.  Trotter. 
They  tried  the  way  in  Christ,  vi^ho  gave  them  life, 
and  enriched  their  souls  with  truth.  They  have 
blessed  thousands  of  other  lives.  It  works,  what 
Jesus  says.  No  modern  sceptic  is  entitled  to  deny 
it  till  he  tries  it.  So  George  J.  Romanes,  the 
famous  scientist,  found  his  way  back  from  doubt  to 
God  in  Christ.  Jesus  says  that  there  is  no  other 
way  to  God  save  through  Him.  This  is  obviously 
true  if  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God.  Men  who  refuse 
to  walk  this  way  to  God  wander  into  the  wilder- 
ness. It  is  good  to  think  that  some  Unitarians  like 
William  EUery  Channing  really  worship  Jesus  in 
spite  of  metaphysical  distinctions  about  His  nature. 
So  did  the  authors  of  "  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee," 
and  «'  In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  Glory,"  both  of  whom 
were  Unitarians.  But  I  press  to-day  the  point  of 
Jesus  here  in  John's  Gospel  that  Jesus  is  the  way  to 
God  for  sinful  men  to  tread  and  the  only  way. 

The  disciples  are  all  alert  now  and  realize  that 
Jesus  is  dealing  with  the  greatest  problems  of  life. 
So  Philip  takes  up  the  word  of  Jesus  about  knowing 
the  Father  by  knowing  Him*  (*3  *  7)  ^"^  shows  his 

'  Please  note  that  these  candid  expressions  of  doubt  come 
from  the  circle  of  the  Twelve.  Jesus  treats  fairly  their  in- 
tellectual difficulties  and  tries  to  help  them  into  clearer  light. 


118  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

own  failure  to  see  the  Father  in  Jesus  though  Hving 
with  Him  these  years :  "  Lord,  show  us  the  Father, 
and  it  sufficeth  us"*  (13:8).  Moses  had  once 
begged  to  see  God  (Ex.  33  :  17  ff.)  and  Isaiah  (40 :  5) 
had  promised  the  revelation  of  "  the  glory  of 
Jehovah."  It  was  a  universal  craving  to  see  God, 
to  "feel  after  him  and  find  him "  (Acts  17:27). 
Let  us  not  be  too  hard  on  Philip  who  voiced  their 
longing  for  an  objective  manifestation  of  God, 
however  childish  it  is  in  reality.  But  the  tragedy 
of  it  all  is  that  Philip  has  not  really  known  Jesus, 
else  he  would  not  ask  such  a  question  (14  :  9).  It 
is  easy  to  understand  how  natural  it  is  for  men  to 
make  idols  by  which  to  objectify  God,  when  PhiHp 
wishes  to  see  more  of  God  than  Jesus  has  brought 
him,  had  not  in  reality  seen  God  in  Christ. 

The  union  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  a  matter 
of  nature,  but  also  of  works,  and  Philip  can  see  the 
works  and  believe  that  far  (14:  10  f.).  So  to-day 
men  criticize  Jesus  for  not  being  enough  like  God 
and  then  the  Gospel  of  John  for  making  Him  too 
much  like  God.  Jesus  has  made  it  possible  to 
interpret  God  in  terms  of  personality  and  not  of 
mere  abstraction.  God  is  like  Jesus.  Jesus  is  also 
hke  God.     Jesus  is  God. 

With  this  conception  of  His  Person  clear  Jesus 
goes  on  to  plead  for  fidelity  because  the  work  will 
go  on  with  increasing  power  after  His  death 
(14:  12),  greater  in  degree,  not  in  quahty,  expand- 

*  Ael^ov  is  more  than  argument ;  it  is  something  visible. 
*Ap/fe~i  means  **  it  is  enough,"  the  end  of  all  doubt. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  119 

ing  and  extending  over  the  world.  They  will  have 
direct  access  to  Him  in  prayer,  prayer  to  the  Fa- 
ther and  to  the  Son/  His  "  name  "  opens  the  door 
to  the  Father's  heart.  "  That  will  I  do"  (14:  14) 
Jesus  says,  thus  claiming  power  after  His  death  on 
a  par  with  the  Father.  He  means,  of  course,  that 
the  requests  are  to  be  in  accord  with  the  Father's 
will.  The  supreme  test  of  love  is  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  Jesus  (14: 15). 

He  promises  the  presence  of  another  Helper^  to 
take  His  place  and  to  do  for  them  what  He  has 
been  doing  as  Teacher  and  Guide  (14:16-26). 
Jesus  has  been  Advocate  and  Comforter  while  on 
earth.  He  will  continue  to  be  our  Advocate  with 
the  Father  (Rom.  8:34;  i  John  2:  i),  but  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  God's  Advocate  with  men  (Rom. 
8  :  26  f.).  His  mission  is  to  teach  the  disciples  what 
they  need  to  know  (14:  26).  He  is  a  Person^  as  is 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  The  world  cannot  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit  (14:  17),  this  "  spirit  of  truth,"  but 
He  will  make  His  home  in  the  believer's  heart  and 
so  bring  Father  and  Son  to  us  all  as  permanent 
dwellers  in  our  hearts  (14:17,  23;  Matt.  28:20). 
This  spiritual  manifestation  of  Christ  puzzles  Judas 

*  This  is  true  whether  "  me  "  is  part  of  the  text  in  verse 
14  or  not. 

^aXXov,  Another  of  same  sort,  not  irspov.  7:apd/i Xtjtov 
(our  Paraclete)  is  the  word  for  advocate  or  pleader.  The 
word  is  used  for  consoler  or  comforter. 

^  Note  i/ielvn?  in  14:  26,  skipping  the  grammatical  neuter 
in  Tzveufxa.  We  should  say,  "  He,"  not  "  it  "  in  speaking  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 


120  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

(not  Iscariot),  but  it  is  gloriously  true  (14 :  21  ff.). 
Jesus  lives  on  forever  and  His  eternal  life  beyond 
the  grave  is  the  guarantee  of  our  life  hereafter  with 
Him  (14:  19).  At  every  turn  we  see  Jesus  saying 
things  about  Himself  that  only  one  conscious  of 
equality  with  God  could  say  unless,  forsooth,  Jesus 
is  considered  unbalanced  in  His  intellect.  He  was 
so  regarded  by  some  of  His  enemies  and,  for  a  time, 
by  His  brothers,  as  we  have  seen,  but  the  verdict 
of  the  world  since  has  been  that,  if  Jesus  was  crazy, 
it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  the  rest  of  the  world 
could  go  crazy  with  Him.  Paul  was  willing  to  be 
considered  beside  himself  in  his  zeal  for  God  (2  Cor. 
5:13).  There  are,  indeed,  a  few  wiseacre  scholars, 
who  to-day  actually  treat  Jesus  as  a  paranoiac,* 
though  most  men  would  call  them  the  unbalanced 
faddists  of  over  refinement  of  specialism.  But  the 
claim  of  Jesus  has  stood  the  test  of  time.  The  love 
for  Jesus  is  what  has  lifted  the  world  up  towards 
God  (14:23)  and  it  is  doing  it  in  spite  of  all  the 
downward  pull  of  the  devil.  As  men  are  trans- 
formed by  the  love  of  Jesus,  so  do  they  approxi- 
mate the  ideal  of  God.  Godlikeness  is  the  goal  of 
man. 

Jesus  leaves  His  peace  with  His  disciples 
(14:  27-31),  a  legacy  that  the  world  cannot  give 
and  cannot  take  away.  Jesus  had  won  this  peace 
of  soul  in  the  midst  of  conflict  and  it  is  possible  for 

^  Cf.  O.  Holtzmann,  "  War  Jesus  Ekstatiker  .? "  (1903)  ; 
Schaefer,  **  Jesus  in  psychiatrischer  Beleuchtung  "  (1910); 
Werner,  "  Die  psychische  Gesundheit  Jcsu  "  (1908), 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  121 

all  to  have  the  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding 
(Phil.  4:7).  A  Christian  may  have  it  in  the  midst 
of  battle  and  in  the  presence  of  death.  It  is  the 
panacea  for  the  troubled  heart  (John  14  :  27)  and 
should  stop  all  nervous  fluttering  from  fear.^  Per- 
fect love  not  only  casts  out  fear  (1  John  4:  18),  but 
causes  joy  in  its  place  (John  14:  28).  The  day  will 
come  when  they  will  rejoice  that  Jesus  has  gone  back 
to  the  Father,  gloomy  as  they  are  now.  That  day 
did  come  when  they  had  **  great  joy  "  after  Jesus 
ascended  to  the  Father  (Luke  24:52).  Meanwhile 
He  faces  the  prince  of  this  world  who  has  no 
sovereignty  over  Him  (14 :  30).  He  arises  with  the 
Eleven  (14:31)  who  apparently  go  out  and  down 
to  the  street  and  on  towards  Gethsemane  in  the 
shadows  caused  by  the  passover  moon. 

Jesus  continues  His  intimate  talk  and  His  plea 
for  their  loyalty  to  Him.  He  gives  them  the 
allegory  of  the  vine  and  the  branches  (15:  i-ii). 
Christ  has  cosmic  relations  with  all  men  and  with 
the  whole  universe  which  trembles  at  His  touch 
(John  I  :  3  ;  Rom.  8:22;  Col.  1:15-20;  Heb. 
I  :  2).  That  idea  is  apparently  presented  here  also 
(John  15:2),  but  those  who  have  spiritual  life 
through  Him  bear  fruit  (15  : 4)  because  the  union  is 
vital  and  abiding  (15  :4-io).  Jesus  presses  by  rep- 
etition the  "  abiding "  in  Him.  This  will  bring 
fullness  of  joy  to  Christ  and  to  the  disciples  (15:1 1). 
Thus  alone  can  the  branch  obtain  life  from  the  vine 
and  bear  fruit  which  is  the  proof  of  life.  This 
^  fiTjde  detXtdro), 


122  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

figure  of  the  union  of  the  believer  with  Christ  is 
the  same  as  that  so  common  in  Paul's  Epistles  when 
he  constantly  speaks  of  his  being  "  in  Christ." 
Jesus  brings  divine  energy  into  our  lives.  If  we  let 
Him  in,  He  brings  hfe,  peace,  and  power. 

ID.  The  Need  for  Mutual  Love  Between  the 
Disciples  (15  :  12-25). 

Jesus  has  already  spoken  on  this  topic  (13:  34  f.), 
but  it  will  bear  repetition.  Jesus  is  offering  the 
supreme  proof  of  His  love  in  laying  down  His  life 
(15  :  13)  for  His  friends  (and  for  His  enemies  also). 
He  asks  for  the  same  kind  of  devotion  to  Himself  on 
the  basis  of  friendship,  for  He  has  promoted  them 
to  this  rank  (15  :  15),  but  on  the  understanding  that 
they  prove  worthy  of  the  title  by  obedience  to  His 
commands  (15  :  14).  He  chose  them  first  (15  :  16) 
and  has  thus  the  right  to  make  this  mutual  love  a 
command  (i5:i6f.).  They  must  cling  to  each 
other  against  the  world's  hate  which  they  are  sure  to 
get  if  they  are  at  all  hke  Jesus  (15  :  18-21).  Hatred 
of  Jesus  means  hatred  of  the  Father  (15  :  23)  for 
"  now  have  they  both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and 
my  Father  "  (15  :  24).  They  have  •'  seen"  the  Fa- 
ther in  Christ,  but  did  not  recognize  Him.  But 
none  the  less  they  are  without  excuse  (15  :  22,  24). 
It  is  as  the  Psalmist  (Ps.  35  :  19 ;  69 :  4)  said  :  "  They 
hated  me  without  a  cause."  It  has  literally  been 
true  that  the  world's  hate  has  made  Christians  love 
each  other  better.  Many  a  schism  has  been  healed 
by  the  hand  of  a  common  persecution. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  123 

II.     The  Help  of  the  Paraclete  (15  :  26-16  :  15). 

Jesus  recurs  to  the  coming  of  the  Comforter 
whom  He  will  send  from  the  Father  (15  :  26)  from 
which  statement  is  derived  the  doctrine  of  the  Pro- 
cession of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Subordination 
of  the  Spirit  to  the  Father  and  the  Son.  There  is 
here  a  clear  statement  of  the  Persons  in  the  Trinity, 
not  a  mere  modal  Trinity.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  to 
bear  witness  about  Jesus.  He  is  the  representative 
of  Christ  upon  earth,  He  and  not  the  Pope  or  any 
mere  man.  But  the  disciples  must  also  bear  wit- 
ness of  Jesus  since  they  have  been  with  Him  since 
the  beginning  of  His  ministry  (15  :  27).  They  are 
to  witness  even  if  they  become  martyrs  *  and  are 
put  oat  of  the  synagogues  and  killed.  Jesus  now 
speaks  plainly  and  even  chides  them  for  no  longer 
asking  "  Whither  goest  thou?  "  (16  :  5)  as  they  did 
in  the  beginning  of  this  discourse  (13  :  36).  Even 
Peter  is  quiet  as  they  are  all  hushed  into  silence  by 
the  wonder  of  Christ's  words  and  the  wealth  of  new 
truths  which  He  is  now  giving  them.  Jesus  goes  on 
to  explain  that  "  it  is  expedient  "  ^  for  them  that 
He  go  away,  though  they  do  not  see  it  so.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  see  things  as  they  really  are.  We 
have  the  short  view  and  do  not  know  the  final  out- 
come. The  coming  of  the  Comforter  turns  on  the 
going  of  Jesus  (16  :  7).  The  point  is  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  better  qualified  for  the  task  of  reaching  the 
hearts  of  men  than  is  Jesus  while  in  the  flesh  with 


*  Our  **  martyr  "  is  simply  the  Greek  /idprup  **  witness.' 
^  (To/x^ipei.     Bears  together  for  their  good. 


124  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

its  necessary  limitations  of  place.  The  Holy  Spirit 
has  direct  access  to  every  man's  heart.  It  is  His 
function  to  convict  *  the  world.  The  world  needs 
its  sin  revealed  to  it.  The  sense  of  sin  becomes 
deadened  so  that  people  in  decent  society  wink  at 
horrible  vices  till  the  conscience  is  aroused.  Then 
men  crave  again  the  ways  of  righteousness  when 
they  face  the  terror  of  judgment.  This  lethargy 
makes  periodical  revivals  necessary.  It  took  John 
the  Baptist  to  shake  Judea  and  John  Wesley  to 
quicken  England  and  D.  L.  Moody  to  stir  America 
by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  rejection  of  Jesus  is  sin 
and  leads  to  all  possible  sins  (i6:  8-1 1).  Jesus  has 
not  told  the  disciples  all  that  they  need  to  know, 
but  all  that  they  can  bear  now  (i6  :  12).  The  Spirit 
of  truth  will  guide  ^  them  into  all  the  truth.  Jesus 
had  claimed  to  be  the  embodiment  of  truth.  Hence 
He  says  of  the  Holy  Spirit :  •'  He  shall  glorify  me : 
for  he  shall  take  of  mine,^  and  shall  declare  it  unto 
you"  (16:  14).  That  is  the  same  as  the  Father's 
store  (16:  15).  Through  the  ages  the  Holy  Spirit 
guides  men  into  "  the  mystery  of  God,  even  Christ, 
in  whom  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge hidden"  (Col.  2:  3  f.).  He  has  taught  John 
and  Paul  and  He  is  ready  to  teach  any  of  us  who 
will  accept  Him  as  Interpreter  of  Christ. 

12.     The  Promise  of  Christ's  Return  (16  :  16-24). 

The  words  of  Jesus  again  puzzle  the  disciples  as 

*  iXiy^ei,     Reprove    at    any    rate    and   bring  under  con- 
viction if  possible.         ^  6drjyij(TE(.     Lead  the  way  as  guide. 

*  i/:  TOO  ^fiou.     Out  of  my  store. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  125 

He  talks  of  their  seeing  Him  again  in  "  a  little  while," 
but  they  fear  to  question  Him  about  it,  for  their 
other  questions  revealed  the  depth  of  their  igno- 
rance. Nothing  is  so  illuminating  as  questions. 
If  listeners  could  only  ask  the  preacher  some  ques- 
tions as  he  preaches,  he  could  see  how  far  he  may 
be  missing  his  goal.  Jesus  notes  their  silence  and 
explains  His  enigmatic  saying  and  points  to  the 
day  when  there  will  be  no  need  to  ask  further  ques- 
tions, when  all  will  be  clear.  Meanwhile  they  can 
ask  the  Father  in  His  name  all  that  they  wish  to 
know  and  that  they  ought  to  know.  Jesus  ap- 
parently has  in  mind  the  Second  Coming  and  the 
Judgment,  though  He  may  also  include  by  the 
**  little  while"  His  resurrection.  But  they  must 
learn  to  suffer  and  to  wait,  for  sorrow  shall  be 
turned  into  joy. 

13.    The  Certainty  of  Victory  (16  :  25-33). 

Jesus  admits  that  He  has  spoken  to  them  "  in 
dark  sayings"*  (16:25),  but  it  was  a  necessity. 
Language  after  all  is  symbolic  and  pictographic. 
Perfect  understanding  can  get  beyond  the  need  of 
speech.  Jesus  promises  a  day  when  He  can  speak 
«'  openly  "  ^  to  them  without  "  dark  sayings."  So 
Jesus  tries  it  now  and  says  in  so  many  words  that 
He  is  going  back  to  the  Father  from  whom  He 
came  into  the  world.^     At  last  the  disciples  see  a 

*  iv  Tzapoi[xiat<s. 

^  Tzapp-r^ffla.      A  full  Story,  nothing  held  back. 
'  The  use  of  k6<t{io<;  is  one  of  the  characteristic  words  of 
this  Gospel.     It  occurs  in  various  senses. 


126  THE  DIVINITY  OP  CHEIST 

gleam  of  light :  "  Lo,  now  speakest  thou  plainly, 
and  speakest  no  dark  saying"  (16:29).  "Now 
know  we,"  they  go  on,  as  if  they  have  made  the 
great  discovery,  "  that  thou  knowest  all  things  and 
needest  not  that  any  man  should  ask  thee:  by 
this  we  believe  that  thou  camest  forth  from  God  " 
(16:30).  They  had  accepted  Him  as  Messiah  at 
the  start  (l  :  41),  but  they  had  not  comprehended 
that  He  was  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  even  when 
they  used  the  term  "the  Son  of  God"  (1:49). 
Slowly  these  men  have  been  led  to  see  that  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  one  in  nature  and  ought  to 
be  ready  now  for  the  departure  of  Jesus  and  the 
tutelage  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But,  alas,  their  con- 
fidence is  premature,  for  Jesus  says  :  "  Do  ye  now  * 
believe?"  (16:31).  He  had  urged  faith  in  Him- 
self as  in  God  (14 :  i).  This  they  now  claim,  but 
Jesus  reminds  them  of  their  desertion  this  very 
night :  "  Ye  shall  be  scattered,  every  man  to  his 
own ;  and  shall  leave  me  alone :  and  yet  I  am  not 
alone,  because  the  Father  is  with  me  "  (16 :  32). 
With  God  He  has  already  won  the  victory  for 
Himself  and  for  them :  *•  In  the  world  ye  have 
tribulation  :  but  be  of  good  cheer  * ;  I  have  over- 
come '  the  world  "  (16  :  33). 

14.    The  Prayer  of  Consecration  *  (17). 

This  is  the  real  Lord's  Prayer,  His  own  plea  at 

*  apTt,     At  this  juncture.      ^  Bapffslre.     Good  courage. 

*  vsvifcri/za.     State  of  completion  by  anticipation. 

*  This  is  Westcott's  phrase,  but  I  had  fallen  upon  it  before 
consulting  his  great  work. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  127 

this  supreme  crisis  of  His  ministry.  Further  talk 
to  the  disciples  is  useless,  as  they  have  already 
heard  more  than  they  can  digest.  Jesus  probably 
pauses  near  the  eastern  gate  of  the  city  by  the 
Temple  '  and  prays  "  lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  " 
(17  :  i)  in  audible  voice  so  that  the  disciples  hear. 
Westcott  calls  this  prayer  "  at  once  a  prayer  and  a 
profession  and  a  revelation,"  **  the  consummation 
of  the  glory  of  God  through  Christ,  the  Word  In- 
carnate, from  stage  to  stage,  issuing  in  a  perfect 
unity."  The  prayer  falls  into  three  obvious  parts  : 
(i)  For  Himself,  1-5.  (2)  For  the  Eleven  Apostles, 
6-19.  (3)  For  All  Believers  of  All  Time,  20-26. 
There  is  thought  enough  in  this  prayer  for  a  vol- 
ume of  exposition.  Jesus  begins  with  "  Father " 
and  "  thy  Son,"  but  soon  (verse  4)  says  "  thee  " 
and  "  me."  "  The  hour  "  ^  is  used  in  various  senses 
by  Jesus  concerning  His  work.  It  was  once  the 
public  entrance  upon  His  Messianic  ministry  (John 
2  : 4),  while  it  is  here  the  hour  of  consummation  which 
*•  has  arrived."  ^  The  glorifying  of  the  Son  and  the 
Father  (cf.  I3:3if.)  is  more  than  victory  over 
death  and  includes  the  resurrection  and  ascension. 
The  mission  of  the  Son  is  to  bring  salvation  (eternal 
life)  to  men  who  believe  and  Jesus  possesses  the 
authority  (or  power)  *  over  all  flesh  as  the  Head  of 

^  Westcott  feels   certain  that  this  prayer  was  uttered  in  the 
Temple  courts.     That  is  quite  possible. 
Tj  u)pa, 

'  iXijXudsv.     The  entrance  upon  the  hour  has  come,  not 
the  completion  of  it.  *  k^ooaia. 


128  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

humanity  (17:2).  Eternal  life  is  described  as  the 
knowledge  '  of  God  and  Christ  (17  :  3).^  Jesus  is 
conscious  of  having  finished  His  work,  a  victorious 
work,  the  task  given  Him  by  the  Father  (17  :  4). 
Hence  He  longs  for  the  restoration  of  the  glory 
which  He  had  with  the  Father  in  the  preincarnate 
state  (17:5.  Cf.  I  :  i).  There  is  here  consciousness 
of  equality  and  fellowship  with  God. 

Jesus  had  come  to  earth  to  "  manifest"  God  (cf. 
I  :  18)  and  He  began  with  the  Twelve  Apostles  as 
the  nucleus.  He  claims  success  with  these  men  in 
spite  of  the  case  of  Judas,  **  the  son  of  perdition,"' 
whose  fate  fulfills  Scripture  (Ps.  12:9)  and  whose 
character  was  known  to  Jesus  from  the  start 
(6 :  70  f.).  The  devil  had  him  all  the  while,  and 
Jesus  "  kept  "  and  "  guarded  "  ^  (7^12)  them  in  the 
garrison  of  jealous  love  (cf.  Phil.  4  :  7).  They  needed 
the  anxious  watch-care  of  Jesus  and  He  is  profoundly 
concerned  for  their  welfare  now  that  He  is  going  to 
leave  them.  He  is  not  here  praying  for  the  world, 
but  for  these  eleven  men  (17:9),  though  He  does 
elsewhere  for  the  unsaved  (Luke  23 :  34).  Jesus 
has  faithfully  given  these  men  God's  word  and  He 
prays    that   they    may  be   sanctified^  in    its    truth 

^  yivwffKwniv.  Experimental  knowledge  and  continuous 
experience.     Linear  present. 

'^  Westcott  doubts  if  the  words  "  Jesus  Christ  "  were 
spoken  by  Jesus  in  the  prayer  and  considers  them  a  paren- 
thetical addition  by  the  writer. 

'6  o\d<s  r^9  dTTwXeia^.      Destined  for  perdition. 

*  h-rjpouv  (continuous,  imperfect)  and  kcpuXa^a  (constative 
aorist).  *  dyiaauv.     Set  apart  to  and  in  the  truth. 


THE  SECEET  OF  JESUS  129 

(17:17).  These  men  are  not  to  be  spiritual  re- 
cluses out  of  the  world.  They  are  to  fight  on  in 
the  world,  different  from  the  world,  in  it  and  not  of 
it,  to  transform  the  world,  to  rescue  it  from  the 
prince  of  the  world,  and  bring  it  to  the  feet  of 
Jesus  (17 :  15-19).  They  are  Christ's  missionaries 
into  the  world  as  Christ  is  God's  Apostle  ^  to  earth 
(I7:i8f.). 

But  all  Christians  are  to  be  apostles  (missionaries) 
in  this  sense.  They  are  to  pass  on  the  word  of 
truth  and  of  life  through  the  ages.  For  these  mes- 
sengers of  truth  Jesus  prays.  The  item  that  is  up- 
permost in  Christ's  heart  as  He  faces  the  future  is 
the  need  of  unity  on  the  part  of  His  followers, 
"  that  they  may  all  be  one."  ^  Jesus  had  just  prayed 
for  unity  among  the  Eleven  (17:11).  They  had 
shown  a  lack  of  love  on  this  very  night  in  the  strife 
for  primacy  at  the  passover  meal.  There  is  abun- 
dant room  for  anxiety  about  the  future  believers. 
After  conversion  men  still  have  the  same  psycho- 
logical traits  and  characteristics.  Jesus  is  not  here 
praying  specifically  for  organic  union.  That  was  a 
reality  already  and  continued  so  for  a  long  time. 
The  schism  which  Jesus  fears  is  a  deeper  and  more 
serious  one  than  that  and  the  usual  precursor  to 
division.  It  is  the  jealousy  that  makes  cooperation 
difficult  or  impossible.  The  most  important  ques- 
tion before  Christians  to-day  is  not  organic  union. 
That  is  folly  without  harmony  of  conviction  and 
feeling  and  cannot  be  forced  by  mechanical  efforts, 

^  dniffTscXa^,  ^  iva  Travre?  ev  uxrtv  (17  :  2l). 


130  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

however  desirable  in  the  abstract.  Lack  of  unity  is 
a  much  more  serious  matter  than  lack  of  union. 
This  lack  of  unity  appears  in  the  members  of  the 
same  denomination,  yea,  of  the  same  local  church. 
This  is  what  disturbs  the  heart  of  Christ.  He 
pleads  and  prays  for  a  unity,  a  oneness  of  spirit, 
like  that  between  Himself  and  the  Father.  In  that 
case  schism  is  impossible.  The  world  will  then 
come  to  know  God  in  Christ.  But  Jesus  knows  the 
Father  even  if  the  world  does  not.  He  has  revealed 
the  Father  to  the  world  (17  :  25  f.). 


THE  SCORN  OF  CHRIST'S  ENEMIES 
(Chapters  i8  and  19) 

"  Behold,  the  Man:' 

1.  Into  Gethsemane  (18 :  i). 

JESUS  "  went  forth  over  the  brook  Kidron, 
where  was  a  garden,  into  which  he  entered, 
himself  and  his  disciples"  (18:  i).  He 
went  forth  from  the  place  where  He  had  been  pray- 
ing, went  on  through  the  gate,  and  down  into  the 
valley,  the  disciples  full  of  troubled  thoughts. 
John's  Gospel  omits  all  reference  to  the  institution 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  the  close  of  the  passover 
meal  (Matt.  26 :  26-29  ;  Mark  14  :  22-25  ;  Luke 
22  :  17-20;  I  Cor.  II  :  23-26)  and  before  the  dis- 
course and  prayer  given  in  John  14-17,  Luke 
(22  :  39)  notes  that  it  was  the  "  custom  "  of  Jesus 
to  go  to  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  Matthew  (26 :  36) 
and  Mark  (14:  32)  identify  this  place  of  prayer  as 
Gethsemane.  John  omits  also  the  narrative  of  the 
Agony  in  the  garden,  but  adds  (18  :  2)  that  Judas 
knew  the  place  whither  Jesus  was  in  the  habit  of 
going  in  the  night  to  pray. 

2.  The  Betrayal  and  Arrest  of  Jesus  (18 :  2-10). 
John  emphasizes  the   fact  that  Judas  took  ad- 

131 


132  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

vantage  of  his  knowledge  of  Jesus'  habits  *  in  prayer 
to  betray  Him.  But  even  so  he  comes  not  only 
with  police  officers  ^  from  the  Sanhedrin  (chief 
priests  and  Pharisees),  but  also  with  "  the  band  "  ^ 
of  Roman  soldiers  (i8 :  3)  from  the  garrison  in  the 
tower  of  Antonia,  a  revelation  of  Jewish  fear  of 
Jesus.  They  may  (Dods,  in  loco)  have  dreaded  a 
popular  uprising  after  the  arrest  (cf.  7 ;  32-49 ; 
12:42).  This  band  of  soldiers  had  "weapons."^ 
They  also  had  "  lanterns  and  torches."  ^  It  was 
full  moon,  but  it  may  have  been  cloudy  and  there 
would  be  shadows  from  the  olive  trees  in  the  garden. 
So  the  conspirators  would  take  no  chances  of 
failure.  John  (18:4)  comments  on  the  fact  that 
Jesus  is  fully  aware  of  the  plans  of  His  enemies : 
'•  knowing  all  things  that  were  coming  upon  him." 
This  is  fully  shown  in  the  Synoptic  account  of  the 
Agony  as  Jesus  arises  to  meet  the  betrayer  (Mark 
14 :  42)  and  John  also  (13 :  27)  tells  of  Christ's  com- 
mand to  Judas.  So  Jesus  steps  forth  out  of  the 
enclosure  to  meet  the  party  coming  to  arrest  Him 
and  boldly  challenges  them  (18  :  4).  He  avows  His 
identity  and  exerts  His  power  over  the  company  in 

*  TzoXXd/ziq  ffovTJxdf},     Constative  aorist. 
'  OTZTjpira^.      Cf.  John  7:32. 

*  rijv  ffTzeTpav,  Probably  not  the  full  cohort,  but  a  de- 
tachment only.  Polybius  (XL  23)  uses  ffr.eTpa  for  the  Latin 
manipulusy  two  hundred  men. 

*  oTzXuiv,     Probably  swords  and  slings. 

*  [itTOL  (pavwv  Kai  kafxizddwv.  In  Dion.  Hal.  XL  5  we 
read  :  "  The  soldiers  rushed  out  of  their  tents  with  lanterns 
and  torches." 


THE  SCOEK  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    133 

a  marvellous  manner.  They  not  simply  went  back- 
ward, but  "  fell  to  the  ground  "  (i8  :  6).  Thus  He 
proved  His  mastery  over  His  enemies  and  showed 
to  Judas  and  the  rest  that  He  gave  Himself  up  vol- 
untarily, not  because  they  came  against  Him  with 
armed  soldiers.  This  episode  must  have  staggered 
Judas  a  bit,  but  he  was  too  deep  in  the  mire  to 
draw  back  now.  John  does  not  mention  the  des- 
picable kiss  of  Judas,  the  sign  to  his  companions. 
It  was  not  really  needed,  though  carried  out,  since 
Jesus  confessed  His  identity  and  made  a  plea  for 
the  freedom  of  the  Eleven  (i8  :  8).  They  had  no 
trouble  in  seizing  and  binding  Jesus  as  was  cus- 
tomary with  dangerous  criminals  (i8:i2).  The 
chief  captain  *  or  military  tribune  had  actually  come 
along.  The  Sadducees  had  represented  Jesus  as  an 
enemy  of  public  order  (Westcott,  in  loco).  Simon 
Peter  could  stand  this  procedure  no  longer  and 
made  use  of  one  of  the  two  swords  (Luke  22  :  38) 
that  they  happened  to  have  with  them,  in  an  effort 
to  cut  off  the  head  of  Malchus,  servant  of  the  high 
priest.  But  he  only  got  his  right  ear  (John  18:10), 
probably  because  Malchus  dodged.  Jesus  healed 
the  ear  (Luke  22  :  51)  and  bade  Peter  put  up  his 
sword  (John  18  :  1 1),  adding  with  the  calmness  won 
through  His  Agony,  "  The  cup  that  my  Father 
hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?  '*  So  it  was 
all  over.  Jesus  not  only  would  not  resist  arrest.  He 
would  not  even  allow  His  disciples  to  fight  for 
Him.  "  They  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with 
^  ■^iXiapxo^s.     Leader  of  a  cohort. 


134  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

the  sword"  (Matt.  26:52),  as  all  the  world  is 
now  seeing.  Jesus  had  twelve  legions  of  angels  at 
His  command  if  He  wished  to  use  them  (Matt. 
26:  53).  The  death  of  Jesus  is  thus  shown  to  be 
voluntary  as  it  had  to  be  to  possess  moral  value  for 
our  sins.  But  the  effect  on  the  disciples  was  dis- 
astrous, for  they  all  fled  in  terror  to  save  themselves 
from  a  like  fate.  It  was  indeed  the  hour  and  the 
power  of  darkness  (Luke  22  :  53). 

3.    Jesus  Before  Annas  (18 :  13-14,  19-23). 

John  alone  records  this  preliminary  examination 
of  Jesus  by  Annas  preceding  the  appearance  before 
the  Sanhedrin.  He  says  ••  first "  with  an  allusion  to 
the  examination  before  Caiaphas.  Probably  the  rea- 
son was  simply  to  keep  Jesus  in  a  secure  place 
while  the  Sanhedrin  were  assembling  for  the  trial. 
It  was,  besides,  a  mark  of  respect  to  this  powerful 
ex-high  priest,  the  head  of  the  Sadducees.  Annas 
had  been  high  priest  himself*  A.  d.  7-14  and  he  kept 
the  office  in  the  family  till  five  successive  sons  held 
it  besides  his  son-in-law  Joseph  Caiaphas  who  now 
has  it  (a.  d.  18-36). 

The  Talmud  2  pronounces  a  curse  on  "  the  family 
of  Hanan  and  their  serpent-hissings,"  and  yet  at  this 
time  Annas  (Hanan)  had  a  powerful  following.  The 
Talmud,  besides,  gives  the  Pharisaic  standpoint 
against  the  Sadducees.  John  alone  explains  that 
Annas  is  the  father-in-law  of  Caiaphas.  This  fact 
makes    it   clear  how   Annas  has  so  much  power, 

» Joscphus,  "  Ant.;'  XVIIl.  ii.  i  f.         '  Pemch.,  57  a. 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    135 

though  not  in  office.  Annas  is  probably  the  mov- 
ing spirit  in  the  whole  business  (Westcott),  certainly 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Sadducees. 

It  is  not  clear  why  Caiaphas  (18:19)  questions 
Jesus  in  this  informal  examination  before  Annas. 
It  is  possible  that  John  may  here  refer  to  Annas  by 
"  high  priest "  out  of  courtesy,  as  popular  usage 
uses  the  title  "  governor  "  after  a  man  is  no  longer 
occupying  that  position.  Verse  24  seems  to  make  it 
plain  that  Jesus  is  still  before  Annas  in  verses  19-23.* 
The  question  to  Jesus  about  His  disciples  and  His 
teaching  was  keenly  resented  by  the  Master  who 
ignores  the  implied  slur  upon  His  disciples  as  the 
ignorant  multitude  (cf.  7 :  49).  As  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus,  that  is  pubhc  property  (i8:20f.),  as 
Annas  knows  only  too  well  by  personal  experience 
(cf.  Matt.  21:23-23:39).  The  question  implied 
that  there  was  something  secret  and  sinister  in  His 
teaching  which  He  was  not  willing  to  tell  in  pubhc. 
Socrates  ^  says  when  on  trial :  "  If  any  one  says 
that  he  has  ever  learned  or  heard  anything  from  me 
in  private  which  the  world  has  not  heard,  be  as- 
sured he  says  what  is  not  true."  Jesus  did  teach 
the  Eleven  many  things  that  He  did  not  proclaim 
to  the  world,  but  nothing  contradictory  to  His 
public  teaching  and  only  to  make  them  effective 
teachers  of  the  public.     His  teaching  was  not  eso- 

^  However,  axiffrsiXev  in  verse  24  can  have  the  force  in 
English  of  a  past-perfect.  That  is,  it  may  merely  refer  to 
what  had  already  taken  place.  The  Greeks  did  not  usually 
draw  distinctions  in  past  time.        ^  Plato,  **  Apology  33." 


136  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

teric  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word.  His  protest 
was  met  with  a  "  slap  "  *  of  the  hand  by  one  of  the 
officers,  which  Jesus  did  not  return  (could  not,  in 
fact,  if  still  bound,  as  was  unlikely,  but  would  not 
in  any  case),  though  He  made  further  protest 
against  this  abuse  of  His  person  and  of  His  rights 
to  a  fair  triaF  (i8:22f.).  He  did  not  turn  the 
other  cheek,  showing  that  His  language  on  that 
subject  (Matt.  5  :  39)  is  not  to  be  taken  too  hterally. 

4.     Peter's  Downfall  (18  :  15-18,  25-27). 

All  the  Gospels  tell  this  sad  story,  giving  three 
denials,  but  in  varying  order.  It  is  not  possible 
to  relate  them  clearly  to  the  examination  before 
Annas  and  Caiaphas.  They  covered  some  time, 
since  Luke  (22 :  59)  notes  an  hour  between  the 
second  and  the  third  denial.  Peter  and  John  rallied 
from  their  flight  and  fright  first  of  the  Eleven  and 
followed  Jesus  on  to  the  house  of  the  high  priest 
Caiaphas  (John  18:15),  but  Peter  "  afar  off"  (Mark 
14:54).  John,  that  "other  disciple"  "known  to 
the  high  priest,"  ^  "  entered  with  Jesus  into  the 
court  ^  of  the  high  priest."  It  is  quite  possible  that 
Annas  also   had   rooms  in  the  house  of  Caiaphas. 

'  pdiziaiia. 

^  The  conditions  {t\  and  the  indicative)  in  verse  23  are  of 
the  first  class  and  assume,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  the  truth 
of  the  condition. 

^  ^vttioTo?  tS)  apxiepeX.  How  he  won  this  acquaintance  we 
do  not  know. 

*  The  abXyj  was  originally  the  quadrangle  around  which 
the  house  was  built,  but  it  came  to  be  used  for  the  house 
itself. 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  E:N^EMIES    137 

If  so,  the  denials  of  Peter  were  in  this  building 
where  both  Annas  and  Caiaphas  Hved  and  John 
and  the  Synoptists  do  not  disagree  as  to  the  place. 
The  case  of  Peter  is  almost  tragic.  He  had  tried 
to  kill  a  man  in  defence  of  Jesus  and  then  fled  in 
spite  of  his  boast.  He  came  back,  but  followed 
afar  off.  He  lingers  at  the  door  outside/  unable  to 
get  in  till  John,  "  the  other  disciple  the  acquaintance 
of  the  high  priest "  (note  the  circumlocution  to  avoid 
his  name),  went  out  and  spoke  to  "  the  portress "  ^ 
(i8:i6).  This  maid,  knowing  John  and  letting 
Peter  in  at  his  request,  had  good  reason  to  sus- 
pect Peter's  connection  with  Jesus.  Her  question 
politely  expects  the  answer  "  No,"^  though  she 
thought  "  Yes,"  and  had  a  decided  "  fling  "  at  Jesus 
in  "this  man"^  (i8:  17).  Caught  off  his  guard  and 
helped  on  by  the  very  form  of  the  maid's  ques- 
tion and  his  desire  for  secrecy,  he  said  the  fatal 
words  of  denial.  Inside  the  quadrangle  the  serv- 
ants and  the  officers,  who  had  helped  arrest  Jesus, 
were  warming  themselves  by  the  fire  which  they 
had  made,  for  it  was  cold.  Twice  John  notes  (18: 
i>8,  25)  that  Peter  was  also  warming  himself.^  Again 
on  a  general  accusation  he  denied  being  a  disciple 
of  Jesus.     The  Synoptics  reverse  the  order  of  these 

*  7:pd<s  r^  Oopa  k'^ut. 

^  rjj  dopwpcp.  See  interesting  article  on  "  Peter's  Denials," 
in  particular  re  "  the  portress,"  by  Sir  W.  M.  Ramsay,  in 
2'he  Expository  Times  for  19 16.  ^  [J-^* 

^roo  dvdpw-jToo  TouToo.     This  fellow  in  contempt. 

^  6£pp.atv6p.s\)o<s,     Direct  middle. 


138  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

two  denials,  but  all  agree  in  the  order  of  the  third 
and  climacteric  one.  Mark  speaks  of  the  cock 
crowing  at  this  juncture  (Mark  14:68).  Probably 
Peter  hid  himself  for  an  hour,  but  could  not  stay 
away,  for  yonder  was  Jesus  on  trial  in  the  room 
above  the  quadrangle  where  the  Sanhedrin  sat. 
John  had  gone  on  into  the  room.  So  Peter  came 
back  and  one  after  another,  men  and  maids,  charged 
him  with  being  a  Galilean  as  shown  by  his  speech 
(Matt.  26 :  73).  But  it  was  the  sharp,  close  query  of  a 
kinsman  of  Malchus :  "  Did  not  I  see  thee  in  the  garden 
with  him?"  (John  1 8 :  26)  that  threw  Peter  completely 
off  his  balance.  He  "  lost  his  temper,"  as  we  say, 
and  cursed  and  swore  to  prove  his  lack  of  acquaint- 
ance with  Jesus.  The  cock  crew  the  second  time 
(Mark  14:72).  Jesus  turned  and  looked  at  Peter 
(Luke  22 :  61)  and  Peter  remembered  the  word  of 
Jesus  and  went  out  with  a  broken  heart,  weeping 
bitterly.  But  it  was  done.  It  is  not  hard  to  see 
the  steps  in  his  downfall.  They  are  plain  enough,  as 
are  the  steps  down-hill  which  any  disciple  may  take. 
Judas  has  betrayed  Jesus.  Peter  has  denied  Him. 
The  devil  is  sifting  them  all.  John  alone  is  now 
with  Jesus.  But  Jesus  stands  before  His  accusers 
undaunted  in  spite  of  this  added  blow  from  Simon 
Peter,  His  trusted  heutenant. 

5.    Jesus  Before  Caiaphas  (18 :  24). 

The  supplementary  character  of  the  Fourth  Gos- 
pel is  again  illustrated  at  this  point.  He  gives  no 
details  at  all  of  the  trial  before  Caiaphas  and  the 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    139 

Sanhedrin  and  merely  alludes  to  the  fact  as  if  to 
refer  his  readers  to  the  Synoptic  Gospels  for  the 
story  of  this  phase  of  the  subject.  All  that  is  here 
taken  for  granted.  Indeed,  but  for  Matthew  (27  :  i  f.) 
and  Mark  (15:  i)  we  should  not  know  that  there 
were  two  hearings  before  the  Sanhedrin,  one  at 
night  when  the  real  examination  took  place  (Matt. 
26:  57,  59,  60-68;  Mark  14:  53,  55-65),  the  other 
after  dawn  to  ratify  the  illegal  decision  already 
reached.  Luke  gives  only  this  phase  of  the  trial 
(22:  66-23:  i).  The  only  item  in  John's  one  sen- 
tence to  note  is  that  Jesus  is  said  to  have  been 
*'  bound  "  again  before  being  sent  to  Caiaphas.  This 
implies  that  He  was  set  free  during  the  hearing  be- 
fore Annas. 

6.    Jesus  Before  Pilate  (18  :  28-19  :  16). 

Here  John  has  more  to  tell  and  most  of  it  is  new. 
Pilate  is  in  his  official  residence,  the  Praetorium.* 
It  was  probably  in  the  tower  of  Antonia  and  not  the 
palace  of  Herod.  John  draws  the  picture  with 
characteristic  vividness.  It  is  "  early,"  between 
"  dawn  "  (Luke  22  :  66)  and  sunrise  (John  19  :  14). 
The  accusers  are  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  the  business 
through  before  the  populace  begin  to  stir.  When 
they  find  Jesus  a  condemned  criminal  in  the  eyes 
of  Roman  law,  besides  the  condemnation  of  the 
Sanhedrin,  the  halo  will  drop  from  the  brow  of  the 

^To  npatTwptov.  The  technical  sense  in  the  provinces 
(cf.  Acts  23  :  35),  but  not  that  at  Rome  (ct.  Phil.  1:13). 
It  was  originally  **  the  general's  tent." 


140  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Nazarene  in  the  eyes  of  these  Galileans  who  so  re- 
cently hailed  Him  as  Messiah  in  the  very  faces  of 
the  Sanhedrin  in  the  Temple.  It  is  all  well  planned 
and  is  moving  on  with  expedition.  And  yet  the 
conspirators  will  not  enter  the  Praetorium,  for  that 
is  a  Gentile's  house.  They  wish  to  keep  on  cele- 
brating the  passover  which  has  already  begun.*  So 
the  accusers  stood  outside  till  Pilate  "  went  forth  " 
(John  1 8  :  29)  to  ask  for  their  charge  against  Jesus. 
John  does  not  give  the  charges,  but  only  the  haughty 
assumption  ^  of  infallibility  on  the  part  of  the  San- 
hedrin, though  they  say  nothing  of  their  own  trial 
when  Pilate  offers  to  turn  Jesus  over  to  them 
(18  :  30  f.).  The  reason  is  that  they  wish  the  death 
of  Jesus  and  their  previous  condemnation  is  futile 
because  they  do  not  at  this  time  possess  the  power 
of  life  and  death.  They  probably  here  brought  for- 
ward the  accusations  against  Jesus  mentioned  in  Luke 
23:2,  but  with  no  allusion  to  what  they  had  done, 
least  of  all  did  they  tell  how  they  had  finally  gotten 
the  charge  of  blasphemy.  John's  narrative  evidently 
has  in  mind  Luke's  account,  for  the  question  of 
Pilate  to  Jesus  whom  he  now  takes  back  into  the 
Praetorium  shows  that  He  has  been  charged  with 
claiming  to  be  King  (John  18  :  33).     It  was  a  charge 

^  So  I  interpret  this  disputed  phrase  to  "  eat  the  passover." 
See  my  discussion  of  it  on  page  256  of  Broadus'  **  Harmony 
of  the  Gospels."  John  uses  **  passover  "  elsewhere,  always 
for  the  whole  feast.  In  2  Chron.  30  :  22  we  note  that 
"  they  did  eat  the  festival  seven  days." 

^  The  term  /zaR.oTzoio'^  (here  Kakbv  jiUtaJv)  evil-doer  occurs 
in  Polybius  and  I  Peter. 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    141 

that  Pilate  could  not  ignore,  without  peril  of  arraign- 
ment before  Caesar,  who  would  brook  no  rival.  This 
conversation  between  Pilate  and  Jesus  is  one  of  the 
striking  things  in  John's  Gospel.  The  question  of 
Jesus  to  Pilate  (John  i8  :  34)  is  pertinent,  for  Jesus 
does  claim  to  be  the  King  Messiah  in  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  but  not  a  political  king  as  the  Pharisees 
wished  Him  to  be  and  now  mean  to  charge  Him 
with  claiming  to  be  when  He  said  He  was  '*  Christ 
a  King"  (Luke  23  :  2).  But  Pilate  is  indignant  at 
the  suggestion  that  he  cares  for  the  Jewish  theolog- 
ical refinements.*  "  Am  I  a  Jew  ?  "  he  fairly  blurts 
out  as  he  demands  the  nature  of  the  crime  of  Jesus 
(John  18:  35).  The  reply  of  Jesus  puzzled  Pilate 
more  than  ever.  The  two  men  lived  in  different 
mental  worlds.  Pilate  could  not  comprehend  the 
language  of  Canaan.  This  kingdom  "  not  of  this 
world  "  was  beyond  his  ken.  Alas,  one  must  add, 
many  of  the  followers  of  Jesus  have  forgotten  these 
words  (18  :  36),  for  religious  wars  between  Christians 
have  not  been  uncommon.  Pilate  presses  the  point 
a  bit  further  and  Jesus  confesses  to  being  a  King 
who  bears  witness  concerning  the  truth  (18:37). 
At  this  Pilate  sees  a  gleam  of  light,  for  after  all 
"  what  is  truth  ? "  ^  Truth  stood  before  Pilate 
and  he  did  not  know  what  sort  of  a  thing  truth 
was.  "  I  am  the  truth."  There  is  a  famous  ana- 
gram on  this  question  :  "  Quid  est  Veritas  ?  "  Trans- 
posing the  letters  makes  "  Est  vir  qui  adest."     But 

^  Cf.  Gallio's  scorn  in  Acts  18  :  i^{. 


142  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Pilate  was  no  philosopher  and  no  theologian.  He 
was  merely  a  practical  politician  and  he  was  sure 
that  the  realm  of  truth  in  which  Christ  is  King  in 
no  way  conflicts  with  the  territory  over  which 
Caesar  rules.  So  he  makes  up  his  mind  that  he  is 
dealing  with  a  mystic  dreamer,  perhaps  a  bit  un- 
balanced, but  certainly  harmless.  He  openly  avows 
his  belief  in  the  innocence  of  Jesus  to  the  utter  cha- 
grin of  the  Sanhedrin  (i8  :  38).  When  he  proposes 
that  he  release  unto  them  "  the  King  of  the  Jews," 
according  to  his  custom  to  set  one  prisoner  free  at 
the  feast,  with  a  playful  turn  to  the  title  and  their 
charge,  he  is  surprised  at  their  choice  of  Barabbas,  a 
real  criminal  at  the  head  of  an  insurrection,  perhaps 
a  zealot  and  a  sort  of  national  hero,  though  an  out- 
law (18  :  40).  John  does  not  follow  all  the  ins  and 
outs  of  the  trial  before  Pilate  nor  the  fiasco  before 
Herod  (Luke  23  :  6-12).  But  he  adds  details  about 
the  end  of  the  matter.  Pilate  had  Jesus  scourged  * 
to  see  if  that  would  pacify  the  Jewish  leaders,  but  it 
was  useless.  The  appearance  of  Jesus  in  a  purple 
robe  and  a  crown  of  thorns  upon  His  brow  and  the 
half  humorous  sally  of  Pilate  :  "  Behold,  the  man  !  "^ 
(18:5)  even  after  his  explicit  statement  of  the  inno- 
cence of  Jesus  (18:4)  availed  nothing  with  the 
people.  They  were  in  no  mood  for  humour.  They 
wanted  the  blood  of  Jesus  and  would  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  less.  The  effect  was  simply  to  make 
the   leaders   raise   the  cry   "  Crucify   him,  crucify 

*  llxaffriywfTev.      Caasative  action. 

'  Idou  6  dv0f)W7:ui,     Behold,  the  fellow  ! 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHRIST'S  ENEMIES    143 

him."  *  Crucifixion  was  not  a  Jewish  mode  of  pun- 
ishment, though  Alexander  Jannaeus  used  it  upon 
eight  hundred  Pharisees,  copying  the  habits  of  the 
Hellenes.  But  the  Romans  used  it  constantly  for 
criminals  on  Golgotha  and  the  Jews  will  be  only  too 
glad  to  see  Jesus  crucified.  In  a  pet  Pilate  yields  to 
the  Jews  and  bids  them  to  take  Him  and  crucify 
Him,  "for  I  find  no  crime  in  him"  (i8:6),  the 
most  astonishing  decision  ever  rendered  by  a  judge, 
a  frank  yielding  to  popular  clamour  in  the  face  of 
the  acknowledged  evidence  and  all  justice,  a  sentence 
that  brands  Pilate  forever  as  a  coward  and  makes 
his  name  a  byword  through  the  centuries.  But  the 
Jewish  leaders  in  their  glee  over  their  triumph  tell 
too  much :  "  We  have  a  law,  and  by  that  law  he 
ought  to  die,  because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of 
God"  (18:7).  When  He  was  put  on  oath  by 
Caiaphas  contrary  to  law,  Jesus  had  confessed  to 
this  claim  before  the  Sanhedrin  (Matt.  26  :  63-66) 
and  on  His  confession  they  had  passed  sentence  of 
death  which  Pilate  now  unwittingly  confirms.  But 
the  words  "  the  Son  of  God  "  in  connection  with 
Pilate's  strange  interview  with  Jesus  and  his  wife's 
dream  (Matt.  27 :  19)  made  him  more  superstitious 
and  afraid  than  ever  (John  19 :  8).  So,  in  spite 
of  his  surrender,  Pilate  takes  Jesus  back  into  the 
Prsetorium  for  a  further  interview.  He  affects  in- 
dignation at  Jesus,  but  is  really  overawed  by  the 
tone  of  authority  in  Him  (19  :  10  f.).  The  result  is 
that  Pilate  makes  one  more  feeble  effort  to  release 
*  ZTaOpuxToVf  araupcuffov. 


144  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

the  prisoner,  whereupon  the  Jews  threaten  to  report 
Pilate  to  Csesar  as  harbouring  a  rival  and  so  being 
guilty  of  treason  (19:  12).  He  knew  all  the  time 
that  they  would  do  this  and  his  vacillation  is  thus 
explained.  He  made  another  presentation  of  Jesus 
with  the  salutation  :  "  Behold,  your  King."  "  Shall 
I  crucify  your  King  ?  "  he  urges  as  he  sat  on  the 
judgment  seat*  on  the  elevated  stone  pavement^ 
(Gabbatha  in  Hebrew)  in  front  of  the  Prsetorium. 
The  Sadducees  (chief  priests)  retort :  "  We  have  no 
king  but  Caesar,"  and  swallow  all  their  pride  and  all 
their  hate  of  Rome  to  compass  the  death  of  Jesus 
(19:  13-16).  It  is  clear  that  the  claim  of  Jesus  to 
be  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  the  King,  not  of 
the  Jews,  but  of  Israel,  is  the  crux  of  the  charges 
against  Him.  He  will  not.  He  cannot  deny  His 
divine  Sonship  and  His  Messianic  mission.  Pilate? 
cowardly  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  yet  had  a  Roman's 
sense  of  justice  and  felt  that  a  stupendous  wrong  was 
done  to  an  innocent  man  which  he  did  not  have  the 
courage  to  prevent.  His  spectacular  washing  of  his 
hands  simply  emphasized  the  situation  and  his  un- 
easy conscience  made  him  protest  that  all  the  guilt 
was  upon  the  Jews.  But  unfortunately  there  is 
guilt  enough  for  all  and  he  bears  his  share  along 
with  Judas,  Annas,  Caiaphas,  the  Sanhedrin,  and  all 
who  clamoured  for  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  come  upon 
their  heads  and  upon  their  children  (Matt.  27  :  24  f.). 
The  impossible  thing  has  happened.  The  one  Per- 
fect Man  of  all  the  ages  is  under  condemnation  to 
*  ^TJjiaTo^,  '  XtOoarpioTov,     Tessellated  pavement. 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  EI^EMIES    145 

die  at  the  hands  of  the  Chosen  People  of  God  and 
against  the  forms  of  their  own  and  Roman  law. 
The  Jews  are  guilty  of  treason  to  their  true  King 
and  Pilate  of  treason  to  his  office  (Westcott).  The 
Hope  of  the  Messiah  had  cheered  the  Jews  through 
the  ages  and  now  they  have  compassed  His  death  in 
a  resentful  mood  that  reveals  their  own  spiritual  de- 
ficiency in  the  supreme  crisis  of  history.* 

7.    Jesus  on  the  Cross  (19  :  17-37)- 

John  omits  the  mockery  of  Jesus  by  the  soldiers 
(Matt.  27  :  27-30)  after  the  sentence.  Three 
hours  elapsed  between  the  sentence  by  Pilate  at 
6  A.  M.,  Roman  time  (John  19:  14)  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Crucifixion  at  9  A.  m.  (third  hour  Jewish 
time)  (Mark  15:25).  John  notes  that  the  Jewish 
authorities  "  received  "  ^  Jesus  from  Pilate  though 
they  had  the  Roman  soldiers  as  their  instruments 
(19 :  23).  Westcott  pertinently  remarks  that  they 
received  Him  for  execution  when  they  would  not 
have  Him  as  Redeemer  (i  :  11).^  John  gives  no 
details  of  the  Via  Dolorosa  to  the  Cross  save 
the  one  item:  "bearing  the  cross  for  himself" 
(19:  17).  So  He  began  the  mournful  way  like 
any  common  criminal,  carrying  His  own  cross 
literally  as  He  had  taught  the  disciples  to  do  daily 
(Luke  9:23  f.).  This  in  no  way  contradicts  the 
Synoptic  account  of  the  enforced  (Mark  15  :  21) 

^  See  Innes,  "  The  Trial  of  Jesus "  (i  899)  ;  Stalker,  "  The 
Trial  and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ  "  (1894). 

*  napiial3ov.  ^  00  napiXa^ov, 


146  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

service  of  Simon  of  Cyrene  which  may  have  been 
due  to  the  exhaustion  of  Jesus,  a  theory  supported 
also  (Westcott)  by  the  words  used  in  Mark  15  :  22 : 
"  They  bring  him."  The  place  of  a  skull  (Golgotha) 
was  probably  the  knoll  to  the  north  of  the  city  with 
two  hollow  caves  in  its  face,  thus  roughly  resem- 
bling a  huge  skull.  Crucifixions  took  place  out- 
side of  the  city,  though  near  (John  19:19)  and 
this  place,  Calvaria,  and  not  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  inside  the  walls,  is  the  true  site  of 
the  Crucifixion  of  Jesus.  John  simply  mentions 
"  two  others  "  *  between  whom  Jesus  is  crucified^ 
probably  on  the  very  cross  designed  for  Barabbas, 
the  leader  with  these  two  "  robbers  "  ^  (Matt.  27  :  38 ; 
Mark  15:27)  of  a  large  band  of  insurrectionists 
(possibly  zealots).  John  gives  more  in  detail  the 
placing  of  the  title  on  the  cross  which  Pilate  wrote. 
Probably  the  full  title  was  :  "  This  is  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth the  King  of  the  Jews."  Thus  Pilate  correctly 
presents  the  name,  residence,  and  crime  of  the 
victim.  It  was  written  in  Latin  as  the  legal  form, 
in  Hebrew  (Aramaic)  for  the  ordinary  Palestinian 
Jews,  in  Greek  for  Hellenistic  Jews  and  the  public 
generally,  since  Greek  was  the  current  language  of 
the  world  (19:20).  On  the  Cross  of  Jesus  thus 
meet  the  three  chief  civilizations  of  the  world 
(Roman  law,  Greek  culture,  Hebrew  religion).  The 
Jewish  leaders  greatly  disliked  the  form  of  Pilate's 

*  aXXoo?  duo. 

'  A7)ffTa{.     Highway    robbers,    bandits,  not  petty  thieves. 
Luke  (23  :  33)  only  calls  them  "  malefactors  **  RaKoupyoi, 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    147 

superscription,  for  they  at  bottom  had  national 
hopes  of  a  Messiah,  but  Pilate  was  stubborn  at  last 
on  this  technicality  after  his  abject  surrender  on  the 
main  issue  (19 :  21  f.)  like  many  another  weak  man. 

John  likewise  gives  a  full  account  of  the  casting 
of  lots  by  the  four  soldiers  for  the  seamless  coat  or 
tunic  ^  of  Jesus  after  dividing  equally  His  other  gar- 
ments ^  (19  :  23  f.).  The  soldiers,  of  course,  have  no 
thought  of  fulfiUing  Scripture  (Ps.  22:  18)  in  so 
doing. 

The  scene  between  Jesus  and  His  mother  is  given 
only  by  John  (19:  25-27).  He  contrasts  ^  the  soldiers 
with  the  group  of  women  standing  by  ^  the  Cross  of 
Christ.  There  seem  to  be  four  women  in  the  group 
— Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  Salome  the  mother 
of  the  sons  of  Zebedee  (cf.  John  19 :  25  ;  Mark 
15:40;  Matt.  27:56),  Mary  the  wife  of  Clopas 
(mother  of  James  the  less  and  Joses,  Matt.  27  :  56 ; 
Mark  15  :  40),  and  Mary  Magdalene.  The  women 
are  true,  as  one  would  expect,  in  an  hour  like  this, 
whatever  is  the  conduct  of  the  men.  The  sword 
has  pierced  the  soul  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
as  Simeon  had  said  it  would  (Luke  2 :  35),  but  she 
did  not  flinch  nor  was  she  ashamed  to  own  Jesus 
when  the  rulers  have  rejected  Him.  Once  a  cloud 
of  doubt  did  gather  over  her  faith,  but  she  was  true, 
though  she  could  not  reconcile  this  outcome  with 
the   word    of    the    Angel   Gabriel.     The  Beloved 

^  j^nmv.     The  inner  garment. 

'  fiipf)  (head-dress,  sandals,  girdle,  outer  garment  or 
*llidriov),  '  {xkv — dk,  *  Tzapd,     By  the  side  of. 


148  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Disciple,  who  we  have  taken  to  be  the  Apostle 
John,  the  author  of  the  Gospel,  is  also  there,  the 
only  one  of  the  Apostles  who  came.  It  is  a  tender 
human  touch  in  this  Gospel  when  Jesus  speaks  from 
the  Cross  to  His  mother  and  to  John  and  commends 
them  as  mother  and  son,  titles  of  loving  respect. 
John  accepted  the  precious  charge  "  from  that 
hour  "  and  probably  took  Mary  to  his  lodging '  at 
once,  though  it  does  not  follow  (Westcott)  that  he 
had  a  permanent  home  in  Jerusalem  at  this  time. 
Legend  has  it  that  they  hved  together  in  Jerusalem 
eleven  years,  when  Mary  died,  and  then  again  that 
she  lived  with  John  in  Ephesus  years  afterwards,  but 
we  know  nothing.  It  was  clearly  impossible  for 
Jesus  to  commend  His  mother  to  His  own  brothers, 
for  they  as  yet  disbelieved  in  Him. 

John  passes  by  the  three  hours  of  darkness 
(twelve  to  three),  but  gives  two  sayings  at  the  end 
(19:  28-30).  He  emphasizes  the  fact  of  the  con- 
sciousness 2  of  Jesus  to  the  end.  He  had  refused 
the  stupefying  drinks  twice  offered  Him  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  times,  but  He  does  take  a  sip 
of  the  stimulating  vinegar  at  the  last  which  is  offered 
upon  His  cry :  "  I  thirst."  This  cry  of  physical 
anguish  is  wrung  from  Jesus  by  the  intolerable 
thirst,  the  severest  pang  connected  with  the  slow 
crucifixion.  The  outcry  fulfilled  a  Messianic  Psalm 
(69  :  21),  and  shows  that  the  Messiah  suffered  to  the 
uttermost.     The  other  cry  is  one  of  victory :  "  It  is 

^  ei<:  TO.  tdta.     So  used  in  the  papyri. 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    149 

finished."  ^  This  He  knew  was  to  be  the  outcome 
of  His  atoning  death.  The  work  of  redemption  is 
now  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the  Saviour  as  He 
dies  on  the  Cross,  the  victim  of  human  hate  and  for 
human  sin.  No  theory  of  the  atonement  can  pre- 
sent all  the  truth  in  this  stupendous  tragedy.  But 
it  is  certainly  the  voluntary  giving  of  His  blood  for 
our  sin  by  the  one  perfect  and  sinless  man  who 
is  also  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  a  substitutionary 
death,  but  it  has  moral  value  because  of  the  char- 
acter of  Jesus  and  His  spirit  in  offering  Himself 
for  us.  Here  is  the  core  of  the  Gospel  as  Jesus 
conceived  it  and  His  biographers  have  interpreted 
it.  He  gave  up  His  spirit  to  death  in  order 
thus  to  triumph  over  death  and  sin.  The  simple 
grandeur  of  John's  words  passes  all  comment 
as  the  death  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross  is  the  cul- 
mination of  human  history,  the  ground  of  hope  for 
the  race. 

John  alone  (19:31-37)  gives  the  story  of  the 
breaking  of  the  legs  (crurifragium)  of  the  two  rob- 
bers by  the  soldiers  at  the  request  of  the  Jews 
(19:  31)  so  that  the  bodies  could  be  taken  down 
before  the  Sabbath  began  at  sunset  (six  o'clock). 
The  bodies  were  to  come  down  by  night  anyhow, 
but  the  approach  of  the  Sabbath  made  the  Jewish 
leaders  very  sensitive  on  the  subject.  The  Gospels 
all  (Matt.  27  :  62  ;  Mark  15  :  42  ;  Luke  23  :  54  ; 
John  19:31)  explain  that  the  day  of  the  crucifixion 

*  rer^Aeo-Tat.     Finished  to  stay  finished.     Done  once  for 


150  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

is  the  "  Preparation,"  *  that  is  the  day  before  the 
Sabbath.  This  Sabbath  was  a  **  high  "  ^  day  be- 
cause it  was  also  in  the  passover  week.  But  the 
legs  of  Jesus  were  not  broken  because  it  was  not 
necessary.  He  was  already  dead  when  the  soldiers 
came.  To  make  sure,  however,  one  of  the  soldiers 
pierced  the  side  of  Jesus,  from  which  **  there  came 
out  blood  and  water."  This  astonishing  circum- 
stance is  certified  to  by  the  writer  of  the  Gospel 
who  claims  to  speak  as  an  eye-witness  to  the  occur- 
rence. He  reiterates  that  he  knows  ^  that  he  is 
speaking  the  truth  and  wishes  to  induce  belief  in 
his  statement.  He  sees  the  fulfillment  of  Scripture 
(Ps.  34:20;  Zech.  12:10),  but  he  has  another 
purpose.  The  Docetic  Gnostics  denied  the  real 
humanity  of  Jesus.  So  John  takes  pains  to  bear 
witness  to  the  fact  of  seeing  blood  come  out  of  the 
side  of  Jesus  to  show  the  reality  of  the  human 
nature  of  Christ.  The  credibility  of  such  an  oc- 
currence is  vouched  for  by  modern  medical  sci- 
ence *  on  the  theory  of  a  rupture  of  the  blood  ves- 
sels of  the  heart  as  the  cause  of  death.  Literally, 
therefore,  Jesus  died  of  a  broken  heart,  broken  by 
the  sin  of  the  world  (John  I  :  29  ;  2  Cor.  5  :  21)  as 
He  suffered  alone  in  the  darkness  (Matt.  27 :  46).'^ 

^  napaff/^eoTJ,  The  name  to-day  for  Friday  in  modern 
Greek.  ^  ixsydlrj. 

^  i/ztlvoii  o18e\).      Not  God  knows,  but  6  kiopaRux;  knows. 

*Dr.  Stroud,  "  Physical  Causes  of  the  Death  of  Christ." 

^  See  Clow,  **  In  the  Day  of  the  Cross  "  (1909)  ;  Den- 
ney,  "The  Death  of  Christ"  (2d  ed.,  191 1);  Forsyth, 
"The    Cruciality    of    the    Cross"   (1909);    Ross,    "The 


THE  SCOEN  OF  CHEIST'S  ENEMIES    151 

8.    Jesus  in  the  Tomb  (19  :  38-42). 

The  Gospels  all  tell  of  the  kindly  love  of  Joseph 
of  Arimathea  who  boldly  (Mark  15:43)  avowed 
his  secret  faith  in  Jesus  (John  19 :  38),  no  longer 
afraid  of  the  Jews  though  a  member  of  the  San- 
hedrin  (Luke  23  :  50  f.)  who  had  not  consented  to 
their  purposes  about  Jesus.  Perhaps  he  was  not 
invited  or  refused  to  go  to  that  meeting.  He  was 
rich  (Matt.  27  :  57)  and  was  looking  for  the  King- 
dom of  God  (Luke  23:51).  Timid  people  are 
often  emboldened  by  catastrophes.  Pilate  ex- 
presses surprise  that  Jesus  is  already  dead  when 
Joseph  asks  for  His  body  (Mark  15:44).  An 
avaricious  governor  could  sell  the  privilege  of 
burial  in  such  cases,  but  Pilate  chose  to  be  gracious 
to  Joseph.  Friends  took  the  body  of  the  Baptist 
(Matt.  15:12)  and  of  Stephen  (Acts  8  :  2)  for  decent 
burial.  John  alone  records  the  courage  of  Nico- 
demus,  another  secret  disciple  and  member  of  the 
Sanhedrin  who  had  also  opposed  their  schemes 
against  Jesus  (7  :  50).  He  was  emboldened  by  the 
example  of  Joseph  and  furnished  a  hundred  pounds 
of  myrrh  and  aloes,  a  costly  gift  to  cover  the  body 
of  Jesus  with  these  aromatics  as  we  do  with  flowers. 
So  these  two  members  of  the  Sanhedrin,  the  body 
that  had  compassed  the  death  of  Jesus,  give  His 
body  proper  burial  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Jews,  with  the  linen  clothes  and  the  spices.  The 
forms  were  duly  observed  by  these  two  men  who  in 

Cross  "  (191 2)  ;   Stalker,  "  The  Trial  and  Death  of  Jesus 
Christ"  (1894). 


152  THE  DIYIOTTY  OF  CHEIST 

the  late  afternoon  of  Friday  lay  the  body  of  Jesus 
in  Joseph's  new*  tomb,  freshly  cut  in  the  rock  in 
the  garden  near  the  scene  of  the  crucifixion  on 
Golgotha  Hill.  There  "  they  laid  Jesus  "  ^  rever- 
ently, if  a  bit  hastily,  for  the  day  was  swiftly  dying 
and  the  Sabbath  drew  on  at  sunset,  the  dawn  of  the 
Jewish  twenty-four  hour  day  (Luke  23  :  54).  There 
John  leaves  the  dead  Christ.  He  does  not  tell  of 
the  watching,  wistful  women,  nor  of  the  feverish 
Pharisees  who  have  a  Roman  guard  placed  by  the 
tomb  with  a  seal  of  state  upon  it  to  keep  Jesus  in 
the  grave  (Matt.  27  :  62-66).  The  Apostles  were 
not  at  the  burial,  so  it  seems,  nor  the  women.  The 
hearts  of  all  were  broken  and  bleeding.  They  had 
followed  Jesus  through  the  years  with  mounting 
hopes  and  now  their  Hope  lay  buried  in  Joseph's 
tomb.  Our  own  hearts  are  torn  as  we  read  the 
story  now.  What  must  it  have  been  for  those  in 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  this  death  ? 

*  /eafvov,  not  viov,  ^  edtj/zav  rov  Wrjffouv, 


VI 

THE  VINDICATION 

(Chapters  20  and  21) 
"  My  Lord  and  my  God.'* 

THE  resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  grave  is 
the  basal  fact  in  the  revival  of  hope  in  the 
disciples  and  on  this  fact  rests  the  claim 
of  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah  and  Saviour.  He  had 
repeatedly  foretold  His  resurrection  on  the  third 
day.  This  promise  vanished  with  all  the  rest  in  the 
wreck  caused  by  His  death.  The  disciples  them- 
selves forget  all  the  consolations  held  out  by  Jesus 
so  often  and  in  particular  on  the  night  before  His 
death  (John  14-17).  The  gloom  of  despair  settled 
upon  their  hearts.  The  task  of  the  Risen  Christ  is 
to  convince  His  own  disciples  that  He  is  again 
alive  and  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  has  a  future. 
He  had  been  unable  to  get  them  to  see  that  His 
Kingdom  was  spiritual  and  they  took  His  death  as 
the  end  of  their  hope  of  the  political  kingdom 
which  they  still  looked  for.  The  difficulty  was 
very  great,  as  we  can  see.  But  the  first  problem  is 
the  restoration  of  faith  and  hope. 

The  disciples  were  now  all  sceptics  and  pessi- 
mists and  the  Gospels  all  show  this  to  be  true. 
The  accounts  vary  in  many  details  concerning  the 

153 


154  THE  DIVIls^ITY  OF  CHEIST 

appearances  of  Jesus,  but  they  give  only  frag. 
mentary  records  of  these  days.  They  all  insist  on 
the  great  fact  that  Jesus  has  risen  from  the  now 
empty  grave  and  is  alive  and  has  appeared  to  His 
disciples.  Their  independence  strengthens  their 
witness.  Modern  doubt  scouts  the  possibility  of 
resurrection  of  the  body  on  scientific  grounds  and 
all  sorts  of  theories  exist  to  explain  away  the  actual 
resurrection  of  the  body  of  Jesus,  like  the  swooning 
of  His  body,  the  nervous  fantasy  of  the  women,  the 
psychic  appearance  of  the  soul  (or  the  aura)  of 
Jesus,  the  invention  of  the  story  because  the  dis- 
ciples wanted  it.  But  no  one  of  them  explains  the 
revival  of  faith  in  the  minds  of  these  discouraged 
men  and  women.  Christianity  is  a  fact,  the  great- 
est fact  of  history.  Paul  and  the  Gospel  writers 
explain  the  origin  of  Christianity  as  a  religion  on 
the  ground  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  in  confirma- 
tion of  His  great  claims  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Saviour  of  men.  This  interpretation  has  stood  the 
test  of  time  and  holds  to-day,  as  the  only  adequate 
explanation  of  the  power  of  Christianity  in  the  hves 
of  men.^     John  "  recounts  from  his  own  experience 

^  Some  of  the  most  important  discussions  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  are  here  given  :  Boardman,  "  Our  Risen 
King's  Forty  Days"  (J 902);  Kennedy,  "The  Resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  '*  (1895)  ;  Latham,  "  The  Risen  Mas- 
ter "  (1901)  ;  Milligan,  "  The  Resurrection  of  Our  Lord  " 
(1886);  Orr,  **  The  Resurrection  of  Jesus"  (1908); 
Simpson,  **  Our  Lord's  Resurrection"  (1906);  Swete, 
"  The  Appearances  of  Our  Lord  After  the  Passion  "  (1907)  ; 
Thorburn,    "  Resurrection    Narratives    and    Modern    Criti- 


THE  YINDICATIOK  155 

just  those  incidents  which  called  out  in  the  disciples 
the  fullness  of  belief  triumphant  over  personal 
sorrow,  and  common  fear,  and  individual  doubt " 
(Westcott). 

I.  The  First  Visit  of  Mary  Magdalene  to  the 
Tomb  (20:  I,  2). 

John  does  not  speak  of  the  visit  of  the  women  to 
see  the  sepulchre  "  late  on  the  Sabbath  "  just  before 
sundown,  the  "  dawn  "  of  the  first  day  (Matt.  28  :  i), 
nor  of  the  purchase  of  the  spices  after  sundown  (Mark 
16  :  I).  He  makes  no  allusion  to  the  other  women 
(Mark  16 :  i)  who  come  with  Mary  Magdalene  to 
the  tomb,  ♦'  early,  while  it  is  yet  dark  "  when  they 
start,  though  the  sun  is  risen  when  they  reach  the 
sepulchre  (Mark  16  :  2).  He  is  simply  interested  in 
her  part  in  the  great  event  and  passes  by  the  rest. 
It  is  probable  at  any  rate  that  she  ran  on  ahead  of 
the  other  women  (because  younger  ?)  when  they  see 
"  the  stone  taken  away  from  *  the  tomb."  This 
of  itself  is  cause  enough  for  wonder.  Without 
waiting  to  look  inside  she  runs  "  therefore "  and 
comes  to  Simon  Peter  (back  again  with  the  Beloved 
Disciple)  and  John  with  her  hasty  interpretation  of 
the  grave  robbery,  unspeakable  shame,  and  calling 
for  the  courage  and  skill  of  men  to  find  the  body  of 

cism  "  (1910)  ;  Westcott,  "The  Revelation  of  the  Risen 
Lord"  (5th  ed.,  1891).  A  violent  opponent  of  the  resur- 
rection is  Lake,  "  Historical  Evidence  of  the  Resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ"  (1907), 

^  e/z.     Clean  out  to  one  side. 


156  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

Jesus  before  it  is  further  dishonoured.  All  this 
runs  through  the  mind  of  Mary  in  a  flash  and  she 
acts  upon  the  impulse  of  the  moment.  The  ene- 
mies of  Christ  have  even  tried  to  show  despite  to  His 
corpse.  In  saying  "  we  know  not "  Mary  impUes 
the  presence  of  the  other  women  with  her. 

2.    Peter  and  John  at  the  Tomb  (20 :  3-10). 

There  is  a  delicacy  in  this  story  that  is  very  fine. 
These  two  disciples  act  in  perfect  keeping  with  their 
known  characteristics.  Peter"  rushed  out  "  *  at  once 
and  then  they  ran  side  by  side^  to  the  tomb  in  their 
eagerness  to  set  things  straight.  But  John  was 
fleeter  of  foot'  and  also  finer  in  insight.  He  did 
come  first  ^  to  the  tomb,  but  he  did  not  go  on  in, 
though  he  stoops  down  and  looks  at  the  clothes 
lying  there.  Peter  now  comes  up  and  beholds  ^  the 
clothes  lying  in  orderly  fashion  just  as  John  did. 
Peter  went  on  in,  impulsive  as  usual,  to  see  the 
actual  situation.  John  now  overcame  his  shrinking 
by  the  example  of  Peter  and  went  in  also.  But 
John,  though  first  to  come  and  last  to  go  in,  was 
the  first  to  see  into  the  meaning  of  the  phenomena 
of  the  empty  tomb  and  the  orderly  arrangement 

*  e^rjXdev.      Effective  aorist. 

^  ijpxovTo  and  srpexov  (imperfects)  picture  them  running 
6[xoo  (side  by  side). 

'  7rp(fidpa;j.ev  rd^stov.  Both  Trpo-  and  the  comparative 
and  the  aorist  now. 

*  7cpd>T0(^  though  only  two.      Common  thus  in  the  /?oivij. 

^  dewptt.  Intent  looking.  But  ^Unst  about  John,  merely 
glancing. 


THE  VINDICATION  157 

of  the  grave  clothes.  "  He  saw  and  beheved."  ^ 
This  is  the  great  distinction  ^  of  the  writer  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  his  marvellous  spiritual  vision,  clear 
and  sure  and  piercing  the  empyrean  of  the  eternal. 
Hence  he  has  given  us  "  the  spiritual  gospel  "  as  the 
ancients  said.  Not  yet  did  any  of  the  disciples 
understand  the  necessity  ^  of  the  resurrection 
though  Jesus  had  told  them  repeatedly  the  fact,  but 
even  that  they  could  not  take  in  (Luke  18:34). 
Least  of  all  had  they  associated  any  Scripture  with 
the  subject.  See  Psalm  16 :  10  for  the  possible 
reference.  Jesus  Himself  will  have  to  throw  light 
on  the  necessity  of  His  death  (Luke  24 :  26,  46). 
But  John,  even  in  the  midst  of  all  the  confusion  of 
the  hour,  saw  that  Mary  Magdalene  was  wrong  and 
he,  with  a  sensitive  instinct,  drew  the  logical  con- 
clusion that  Jesus  Himself  had  laid  the  clothes  in 
this  orderly  manner  and  hence  had  risen  from  the 
dead.  But  it  was  not  "  proof,"  not  even  for  Peter. 
So  they  went  away  "  by  themselves,"  ^  for  it  was 
useless  as  yet  to  talk  to  others. 

3.     Second  Visit  of  Mary  Magdalene  (20 :  1 1-18). 

Luke  (24:8-11)  tells  of  the  message  of  the 
women  (including  Mary  Magdalene)  to  the  Apos- 
tles, but  does  not  separate  her  experience  from  the 
rest.     Their  story  was  "  as  idle  talk  ;  ^  and  they  dis- 

*  eldsv  nai  eTztfTTsuffev,  Both  aorists  and  instantaneous 
action.     Here  still  another  verb  for  "  seeing." 

^  Some  manuscripts  for  Luke  24  :  1 2  give  the  visit  of  Peter 
to  the  tomb. 

'  del,  *  ;r^09  aorou^,  *  axrel  Xrjpo^, 


158  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

believed  them."  Mark  (16:9)  in  the  disputed 
close  of  his  Gospel  tells  of  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
to  Mary  first  of  all.  But  John  alone  gives  in  detail 
this  wondrous  scene  between  Jesus  and  Mary. 
There  are  many  points  on  which  one  wishes  for 
more  light.  Mary  clearly  did  not  see  the  angels 
when  she  was  first  at  the  tomb.  Peter  and  John 
did  not  see  the  two  angels  (men)  which  the  other 
women  saw  (Luke  24  :  4-8).  But  now,  when  she 
returns,  Mary  beholds  two  angels,  one  at  the  head 
and  one  at  the  foot  of  the  place  where  the  body 
of  Jesus  had  lain  (John  20 :  1 1  f.).  The  fact  of 
angelic  appearances  here  is  no  more  difficult  than 
elsewhere  and  is  part  of  the  problem  of  the  relation 
of  the  spiritual  world  to  the  world  of  sense.  The 
shepherds  heard  the  angels  sing  at  the  birth  of  Jesus 
as  these  women  saw  the  angels  who  testify  of  His 
resurrection  from  the  grave.  Mary  is  still  troubled 
over  her  idea  of  the  grave  robbery  (20  :  1 3).  Clearly 
John's  Gospel  lends  no  support  to  the  theory  that 
the  women,  Mary  Magdalene  in  particular,  had 
hallucinations  and  led  the  apostles  to  believe  that 
Jesus  was  alive.  The  women  are  presented  as  not 
expecting  to  see  Jesus  alive  and  the  apostles  dis- 
believed their  story  when  they  told  it.  The  angels 
threw  no  light  on  the  situation  for  Mary.  First  of  all 
mortals  (save  the  guard)  she  saw  the  Risen  Christ  and 
did  not  recognize  Him.  There  are  various  reasons  for 
her  ignorance.  She  had  been  weeping.  She  was 
in  utter  anguish  over  the  thought  of  the  grave  rob- 
bery.    She  was  in  the  garden  and  the  natural  man 


THE  VINDICATION  159 

to  appear  was  the  gardener.  Besides,  Jesus  was  not 
quite  as  He  was  before  His  death.  He  appeared 
"  in  another  form  "  (Mark  l6 :  12)  to  the  two  dis- 
ciples going  to  Emmaus  "  whose  eyes  were  holden  " 
(Luke  24  :  16).  Jesus  was  able  to  throw  a  veil  over 
the  eyes  of  those  whom  He  did  not  wish  to  recog- 
nize Him.  But  Mary's  address  to  the  supposed 
gardener  shows  that  she  now  hopes  that  he  has  re- 
moved the  body  of  Jesus  which  she  craves  the  duty 
of  caring  for.  But  one  word  from  Jesus  is  all  that 
is  needed  to  dispel  the  mist  from  the  eyes  of  Mary. 
It  is  her  name  on  His  lips  as  of  old.  In  the  rush 
of  emotion  she  can  only  say :  •'  Rabboni "  (••  My 
Master ")  in  recognition.  She  evidently  tries  to 
take  hold  of  Him,  to  cling '  to  Him  and  Jesus  for- 
bids her,  for.  He  explains,  He  is  only  here  for  a 
short  time  before  He  ascends  to  "  my  Father  and 
your  Father,  and  my  God  and  your  God."  He  did 
allow  the  other  women  later  to  take  hold  of  His 
feet  in  worship  (Matt.  28  :  9),  but  merely  human  fel- 
lowship was  not  to  be  resumed.  But  Jesus  shows 
in  His  very  language  the  highest  sense  of  spiritual 
fellowship  with  Mary  and  the  rest.  Jesus  bade  her 
go  to  His  brethren  and  tell  them.  She  had  a 
marvellous  message,  one  that  they  needed  and  really 
longed  to  hear.  Mary  was  able  to  say  first  of  all 
men  :  "  I  have  seen  the  Lord,"  ^  the  Risen  Lord. 
But  they  evidently  disbelieved  her.  She  was  only 
Mary  who  once  had  seven  demons.     Was  she  to  be 

^  fxTJ   fxov  a-KTou.     Present  tense.     He  bids  her  to  cease 
clinging  to  Him.  ^'^Ecupa/sa  tov  Ropiov, 


160  THE  DIVmiTY  OF  CHEIST 

believed  in  a  matter  like  this  ?     Where  was  John's 
instinct  ? 

4.    The    Meeting    the    First    Sunday    Night 

(20  :  19-25). 

John's  narrative  corroborates  in  a  most  important 
manner  that  of  the  Synoptics  and  in  particular  the 
wonderful  story  in  Luke  24 :  13-35,  the  walk  of  the 
unrecognized  Christ  with  two  disciples  to  their 
home  in  Emmaus.  Renan  calls  this  the  most 
beautiful  story  in  all  the  world.  It  is  quite  too 
beautiful  to  be  invented  by  a  truth-loving  historian 
like  Luke,  though  it  is  told  with  matchless  skill. 
But  our  interest  here  is  in  the  sequel,  for  Luke 
represents  these  two  disciples,  once  their  eyes  are 
opened,  as  hurrying  back  to  Jerusalem  to  tell  the 
disciples  the  glorious  news,  only  to  find  them  as- 
sembled, probably  in  that  same  Upper  Room  of  pre- 
cious associations,  and  already  convinced  of  the  fact 
of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  because  "  he  hath  ap- 
peared *  to  Simon  "  (Luke  24  :  34).  They  tell  their 
story  to  the  joy  of  all.  It  is  at  this  juncture  (Luke 
24 :  36)  that  John  takes  up  the  story.  He  adds  a 
few  details  to  the  account  in  Mark  and  Luke.  He 
uses  Roman  time,  "  evening,  on  that  day,  the  first 
day  of  the  week."  He  explains  that  the  door  was 
shut  for  fear  of  the  Jews.  The  disciples  still  feel 
like  hunted  birds.  John  speaks  of  the  circum- 
stance to  show  that  the  appearance  is  a  miracle  and 
also  to  explain  something  of  the  nature  of  the  resur- 
*  io(pd-q.     The  usual  word  and  means  actual  sight. 


THE  VIN^DICATION  161 

rection  body  of  Jesus  which  passes  through  closed 
doors,  although  His  hands  and  His  side  (20 :  20) 
bear  the  marks  of  the  nails  and  the  spear.  Luke 
(24  :  42)  tells  of  His  eating  a  piece  of  broiled  fish  to 
remove  the  disbelief  of  the  disciples  at  the  sudden 
apparition.  John  shows  how  they  did  come  to  re- 
joice at  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  Twice  (20:  19,  21) 
Jesus  bestows  "  peace  "  on  the  disciples,  the  first 
time  to  restore  confidence,  the  second  time  to  pre- 
pare for  work  (Westcott).  The  commission  here 
given  is  on  a  par  with  that  in  Matthew  28  :  16-20 
and  like  that  is  addressed  to  all  the  disciples  present 
(Luke  24 :  33),  not  to  the  Apostles  alone.  The 
breathing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  symbolic  of  the 
very  word  "  spirit "  (breath,  wind)  and  probably 
suggests  quickening  into  new  apprehension  (cf. 
Gen.  2  :  7)  preparatory  to  the  endowment  at  Pente- 
cost (Westcott).  The  assumption  of  divine  prerog- 
atives and  authority  here  is  precisely  as  in  Mat- 
thew 28  :  16-20.  Jesus  is  hke  a  general  planning 
a  campaign,  only  this  one  is  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world.  He  commands  them  to  receive*  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

The  forgiveness  (remission)  of  sin  here  put  in  the 
hands  of  Christ's  people  is  not  the  power  of  abso- 
lution, but  the  declaration  of  the  fact  and  the  terms 
by  which  it  is  obtained  (20  :  23).  Luke  in  the  last 
commission  (24  :  47)  reports  Jesus  as  saying  "  that 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached 

^  Xd^eTt.  Take.  Each  man  has  to  exercise  his  own 
choice  in  this  great  matter. 


162  THE  DIVINITY  OP  CHEIST 

in  his  name  into  all  nations."  This  is  clearly  what 
Jesus  means  in  John.  He  uses  a  rabbinical  mode 
of  speech,  but  He  no  more  means  to  impart  to  men 
the  power  of  bestowing  forgiveness  than  He  meant 
to  confer  on  Peter  the  power  to  regulate  the  King- 
dom of  God  (Matt.  i6  :  i8  f.).  The  disciples  are  to 
bring  forgiveness  to  men  by  the  message  of  life 
through  Christ.  The  dread  power  of  sin  is  seen 
precisely  in  the  fearful  cost  of  forgiveness.  The 
price  of  redemption  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  and  for- 
giveness is  only  possible  by  the  grace  of  God,  for 
nature  knows  no  forgiveness  of  the  violation  of  her 
laws  without  penalty.  John  closes  this  incident 
with  the  statement  that  Thomas  was  absent  from 
this  first  gathering  of  the  disciples  after  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus.  We  do  not  know  why  he  was  not 
there,  but  he  was  obdurate  and  even  cynical  in  his 
doubt  of  the  story  of  the  disciples,  as  they  had  been 
towards  the  report  of  the  women.  When  they  gave 
details,  he  retorted  that  he  required  the  same  items 
to  convince  him.  Thus  the  first  effort  of  the  dis- 
ciples to  convince  one  of  their  own  number  failed. 
They  evidently  needed  more  skill  and  power  from 
the  Holy  Spirit  if  they  were  to  carry  out  the  com- 
mission just  given  them  by  Jesus. 

5.  The  Meeting  the  Second  Sunday  Night 
(20  :  26-29). 

Things  could  never  again  be  as  they  had  been. 
Jesus  had  appeared  to  various  individuals  and  once 
to  the  group   on   that   first   Sunday   night.     The 


THE  VINDICATION  163 

clouds  were  forever  lifted  from  their  hearts.  Some 
still  doubted,  hke  Thomas,  and  others  later  when 
they  first  saw  Jesus  as  was  natural  (Matt.  28:  17). 
But  this  little  band  of  men  and  women  were  knit 
together  in  a  hallowed  experience  that  changed  the 
horizon  of  the  world  for  them.  Jesus  is  alive.  The 
Kingdom  is  not  over.  All  is  not  lost.  All  is  true 
that  they  had  hoped  and  more,  though  new  and 
strange.  They  are  not  yet  ready  to  go  forward,  for 
He  Himself  has  an  appointed  meeting  with  them 
on  the  mountain  in  Galilee.  So  they  wait  with 
fluttering  hearts.  On  this  second  night  they  gather 
as  a  matter  of  course  and  they  persuade  Thomas  to 
come  this  time.  They  had  no  assurance  that  Jesus 
was  to  appear  to  them  on  this  night,  but  it  will  do 
them  good  to  meet  together  and  talk  over  the  tre- 
mendous import  of  the  new  turn  in  their  hfe  as 
followers  of  Jesus.  They  are  still  afraid  of  the  Jews 
and  the  doors  are  shut  as  before.  Jesus  suddenly 
stepped  ^  into  the  midst  and  gave  the  greeting  of 
peace  {shaloni).  But  the  presence  of  Thomas  leads 
Jesus  to  accept  his  challenge.  Thomas  was  an 
honest  man,  if  cautious,  and  a  noble  one.  His  con- 
fession reaches  the  highest  plane  of  the  Gospels. 
He  said  simply  :  "  My  Lord  and  my  God."^  With 
these  words  vanished  all  doubt  and  came  full  sur- 
render and  faith.     Jesus  accepted  his  homage,  but 

1 " 

^b  /zupid?  fxoo  Rai  6  di6<;  fiou.  The  nominative  form  is 
common  in  the  vocative.  The  way  Jesus  received  his  words 
proves  that  it  is  address,  not  exclamation. 


164  THE  BIVHsTITY  OF  CHEIST 

took  pains  to  point  out  that  he  had  missed  the  op- 
portunity for  the  highest  faith  in  not  beheving 
without  sight.  These  words  hngered  in  the  mem- 
ory of  Peter  also  (i  Peter  I  :  8)  and  this  highest 
type  of  faith  is  open  to  us  all  to-day. 

6.  The  Author's  Ideal  (20:  30,  31). 

The  book  seems  finished  for  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  rise  above  the  confession  of  Thomas.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  John  did  stop  at  this  point 
and  at  a  later  time  added  chapter  21  as  an  Epi- 
logue. He  looks  back  upon  his  task  with  an  au- 
thor's feeling  of  incompleteness,  almost  of  dissatis- 
faction. He  has  produced  the  noblest  book  ever 
written  by  man,  but  does  not  seem  to  know  it.  He 
is  conscious  of  the  many  other  signs  that  Jesus  did 
which  he  knows  and  cannot  record  for  lack  of  space. 
He  has  not  tried  to  tell  all  that  he  knows.  He  has 
frankly  written  with  purpose  and  has  made  a  selec- 
tion out  of  the  vast  material  at  his  disposal.  His 
purpose  is  the  noblest  that  is  possible  for  any  au- 
thor. He  wants  his  readers  to  believe  that  Jesus  is 
in  reality  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  not  as  a  mere 
theological  dictum  or  shibboleth  of  orthodoxy,  but 
that  by  believing  they  may  have  life.  This  can 
only  come  to  them  in  the  name  and  power  of  this 
same  Son  of  God  whose  coming  to  earth  he  has 
proven  in  this  book.  The  wish  is  a  prayer  and  a 
hope. 

7.  By  the  Beloved  Lake  (21 :  1-23). 

If  this  is  an  epilogue  or  appendix,  as  I  think  it  is, 


THE  VINDICATION  165 

it  in  no  way  interferes  with  the  aim  and  spirit  of 
the  book  to  which  it  is  added.  In  a  beautiful  way 
it  illustrates  the  life  of  the  disciples  during  the  great 
forty  days /when  Jesus  appeared  to  them  at  intervals.* 
It  is  probable  that  this  appendix  was  added  by  John 
because  of  a  current  misapprehension  of  a  saying 
of  Jesus  about  the  longevity  of  the  beloved  disciple 
(21  :  20-23)  which  he  corrects.  The  style  is  pre- 
cisely that  of  the  rest  of  the  Gospel.  The  chapter 
reveals  still  further  the  glory  of  the  Risen  Christ. 
This  further  manifestation,  besides  those  at  Jerusa- 
lem, took  place  at  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  whither  seven 
of  the  Apostles  had  gone — while  waiting  for  the 
appointment  on  the  mountain  in  Galilee.  This 
appearance  was  a  surprise,  as  all  of  them  were,  save 
the  one  arranged  by  Jesus  just  mentioned.  The 
names  of  five  are  given,  but  two  are  not.  Hence  it 
is  possible  that  the  beloved  disciple  (21  :  7)  is  one 
of  these  two  instead  of  John,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Zebedee.  But  the  other  arguments  (see  Chapter  I) 
make  it  highly  probable  that  the  author  of  the  book 
is  John,  who  is  also  the  beloved  disciple.  Fishing 
was  once  the  vocation  of  some  of  these  men  and 
now  it  is  their  avocation.  Peter's  impulse  rallies 
the  rest  to  the  enterprise  which  they  probably 
enjoy  in  spite  of  catching  nothing.  Fellowship  is  a 
large  part  of  the  pleasure  of  fishing.  But  the  pic- 
ture of  Jesus  standing  on  the  shore  in  the  haze  of 
the  early  dawn  is  one  that  John  never  forgot 
through  the  long  years.  He  had  taught  them  how 
'Acts  1:3.      di  yjiitpu>v  TS(T<T£pdffovTa  oTtTavofxevo^, 


166  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHEIST 

to  catch  fish  before,  as  John  is  the  first  to  recall 
with  the  quick  conclusion  :  "  It  is  the  Lord  "  (21  :  7). 
But  Peter  acts  first  again  and  soon  they  are  all  on 
shore  counting  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  big 
fishes  as  they  leaped  about  in  the  net.  There  is  no 
need  now  to  ask  :  "  Who  art  thou  ?  "  They  all 
know  by  common  instinct  that  it  is  the  Lord 
(21  :  12).  So  they  have  a  breakfast  with  Jesus  with 
beating  hearts,  this  third  time  that  Jesus  has  mani- 
fested Himself  to  a  group  of  the  disciples. 

But  John  is  not  done  with  the  incident.  Jesus  turns 
to  Peter  and  asks  him  three  times  if  he  loves  Him,  one 
time  for  each  denial.  This  time  also  it  is  early  dawn 
and  by  a  fire  of  coals.  Peter  had  boasted  of  his  great 
love  above  all  others,  but  now  he  drops  that.  So  Jesus 
repeats  the  question  without  the  "  more  than  these." 
The  third  time  Jesus  changes  His  verb  *  to  that  of 
Peter  as  if  to  challenge  even  this  humble  claim. 

The  heart  of  Peter  is  very  humble  now  and  all 
boasting  is  gone.  He  trusts  Jesus  with  His  un- 
bounded knowledge  (21  :  17)  to  understand  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  love,  however  poorly  he  has  shown  it. 
Jesus  had  said  that  when  Peter  had  turned  he  must 
stablish  his  brethren  (Luke  22  :  32).  Now  Jesus 
three  times  charges  him  to  feed '  and  to  shepherd  ^ 


^  From  dLyandu)  to  <ptXi(o,  No  iron-clad  distinction  can 
be  drawn  between  these  two  verbs.  0dc(o  is  to  love  as  a 
friend  (affection  of  the  heart  like  amo)  while  dya-nda)  (like 
diligo)  is  the  higher  love  of  choice.  But  the  words  are  often 
used  interchangeably,  only  here  the  distinction  is  drawn. 


THE  VINDICATION  167 

His  lambs.  It  is  a  great  task  and  Peter  cherishes  it 
(cf.  I  Peter  5  :  2  f.).  Peter  had  once  boasted  of  his 
readiness  to  die  for  Jesus  and  had  then  denied  Him. 
But  now  he  is  to  have  a  martyr's  crown  after  all 
(21  :  18  f.)  if  he  will  only  follow  Jesus. 

The  query  of  Peter  about  the  fate  of  John  who 
came  up  at  this  moment  is  quite  of  a  piece  with 
Peter's  quick  and  impetuous  nature.  But  the  sharp 
rebuke  of  Jesus  by  no  means  indicates  that  John 
was  to  live  till  Jesus  returned  to  earth  at  the  end 
(21  :  20-23).  John  himself  is  now  old  and  his  eyes 
are  longing  for  the  Coming  of  Jesus,  but  he  denies 
this  false  interpretation  of  the  saying. 

8.    Addendum  (21 :  24f.). 

Dods  argues  that  John  himself  could  very  well 
have  written  verse  24  since  he  identifies  himself  as 
the  witness  of  the  piercing  of  the  side  of  Jesus 
(I9-35)'  That  is  true  as  a  possibility,  but  the 
probability  is  quite  the  other  way.  The  use  of  the 
plural  "  we  know  "  is  not  decisive  in  itself,  but  in 
contrast  with  "  I  think  "  in  verse  25  the  probability 
is  greatly  increased.  The  hyperbole  in  verse  25  is 
simply  an  expansion  of  20  :  30.  As  John  closes  the 
epilogue  he  is  overwhelmed  afresh  with  the  magni- 
tude of  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  wonder 
in  each  deed  and  glory  in  every  logion  that  he  spoke. 
No  one  has  ever  written  a  full  hfe  of  Christ.  No 
one  can  ever  do  it.  But  let  us  thank  God  for  what 
has  been  written  and  for  the  expanding  power  of 
Christ  through  the  ages  (Acts  i  :  i)  and  His  abid- 


168  THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

ing  presence  in  our  own  hearts  (John  14 :  23), 
Some  day  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is  and  be,  won- 
der of  wonders,  somewhat  hke  Him  (i  John  3  :  2). 
Jesus  not  only  reveals  God  to  men,  but  in  the  end 
makes  us  like  God. 


Some  Books  on  John's  Gospel 

(Besides  Introductmts  to  the  New  Testament 
and  Gefieral  Commentaries) 

Abbott,  Ezra,  On  the  Authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
1880. 

Abbott,  E.  A.,  Johannme  Grammar.     1906. 
Abbott,  E.  A.,  Johannine  Vocabulary.     1905. 
Ackwith,  The  Historical  Value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
1910. 

Appel,  Die  Echtheit  des  Johannesevangeliums.     191 5. 
Bacon,  The   Fourth   Gospel   in   Research   and  Debate. 
1910. 

Baldensperger,    Der    Prolog    des   vierten   Evangeliums. 
1898. 

Barth,  The  Gospel  of  John  and  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 
1907. 

Bauer,    Hand-Commentar    von     Holtzmann.      3d    ed. 
1908. 

Benham,  St.  John  and  His  Work. 

Blass,  Evangelium  Secundum  Johannes.     1902. 

Candler,  Practical  Studies  in  the  Gospel  of  John.     3  vols. 
1912-1915. 

Carr,  Gospel  of  St.  John.     1904. 

Chapman,  John  the  Presbyter  and  the  Fourth  Gospel. 

1911. 
Clemen,  Die  Entstehung  des  Johannesevangeliums.    191 2. 
Culross,  John  Whom  Jesus  Loved.     1878. 
Delif,  Das  vierte  Evangelium  wiedergestellt.      1890. 
Delff,  Neue  Beitrage  zur  Kritik  und  Erklarung  des  vierten 

Evangeliums.     1890. 

169 


170  BOOKS  ON  JOHN'S  GOSPEL 

Dods,   Gospel  of  John.     2  vols,   in  Expositor's  Bible. 
1891. 

Dods,  Gospel  of  John  in  Expositor's  Greek  Testament. 
1902. 

Drummond,  An  Inquiry  into  the  Character  and  Author- 
ship of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     1904. 
Evans,  St.  John  the  Author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     1888. 
Fouard,  S.  Jean  et  la  fin  de  I'age  apostolique.     1904. 
Gardner,  The  Ephesian  Gospel.     19 15. 
Gloag,  Life  of  St.  John.     1891. 

Gobel,   Die  Reden  des  Herrn  nach  Johannes.     2  vols. 
1906-1910. 

Godet,  Commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.     2  vols. 
1886-1890. 

Gordon,  Quiet  Talks  on  the  Gospel  of  John. 

Gregory,  Wellhausen  und  Johannes.     19 10. 

Grill,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Entstehung  des  vierten 
Evangeliums.     1902. 

Harnack,  Ueber  das  Verhaltniss  des  Prologs  des  vierten 
Evangeliums  zum  ganzen  Werke.     1892. 

Hovey,  Gospel  of  John  in  American  Commentary.     1885. 

Inge,  The  Historical  Value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  (Cam- 
bridge Biblical  Essays).     1909. 

Jackson,  The  Fourth  Gospel  and  Some  Recent  German 

Criticisms.      1906. 
Johnstone,  The  Philosophy  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     1909. 
Krenkel,  Aposlel  Johannes.      1897. 
Kreyenbuhl,    Neue    Losung   des   Johanneischen   Frage. 

1905. 

Lepin,  L'Origine  du  Quatri^me  'Evangile.     1907. 
Lewis,  Disarrangements  in  the  Fourth  Gospel.     19 10. 
Lias,  Doctrinal  System  of  St.  John.     1875. 
Lightfoot,  Essay  on  in  Biblical  Essays.     1893. 
Lock,  The  Literary  Method  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  {Hib- 
bert  Journal f  October,  191 6). 


BOOKS  ON  JOHN'S  GOSPEL  171 

Loisy,  Le  Quatrieme  'Evangile.      1903. 

Lowrie,  The  Doctrine  of  John.  1895. 

Lutgert,  Johannes  Christologie. 

Luthardt,  St.  John  the  Author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 

1875. 
Matheson,  St.  John's  Portrait  of  Christ.     1910. 

McClymont,  Gospel  of  John  in  the  New  Century  Bible. 

1901. 
McDonald,  Life  and  Writings  of  St.  John.     1877. 

Milligan  and  Moulton,  Gospel  of  John  in  Schaff's  Com- 
mentary, 1895. 

Niese,  Das  Leben  des  heiligen  Johannes.     1878. 

Overbeck,  Das  Johannesevangelium.      191 1. 

Peyton,  The  Memorabilia  of  Jesus. 

Plummer,  Cambridge  Greek  Testament,     Gospel  of  John. 

1893. 
Reynolds,  Pulpit  Commentary-Gospel  of  John.     3  vols. 

1887-1888. 

Richmond,  The  Gospel  of  the  Rejection.      1906. 

Robinson,  Historical  Character  of  St.  John's  Gospel. 

Sanday,  The  Criticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     1905. 

Schmiedel,  The  Johannine  Writings.      1908. 

Schwartz,  Ueber  den  Tod  der  Sohne  Zebedai.     1904. 

Scott,  The  Fourth  Gospel :  Its  Purpose  and  Theology. 
1906. 

Scott,  The  Historical  and  Religious  Value  of  the  Fourth 

Gospel.     1909. 
Scott,  The  Hellenistic  Mysticism  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 

{American  Journal  of  Theology^  July»  1916). 
Scott- Moncrieff,    St.     John,    Apostle,    Evangelist,    and 

Prophet.     1909. 
Sears,  The  Fourth  Gospel  the  Heart  of  Christ.     1872. 
Sense,  A  Free  Inquiry  into  the  Authorship  of  the  Fourth 

Gospel. 
Smith,  J.  R.,  The  Teaching  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.    1903. 


172  BOOKS  ON  JOHN'S  GOSPEL 

Speer,  The  Greatest  Book  in  the  World.     191 5. 

Spitta,  Das  Johannesevangelium  als  Quelle  der  Ge- 
schichte  Jesu.     1909. 

Stalker,  The  Two  St.  Johns.     1895. 

Stanton,  Part   I   of  The   Gospels   as    Historical  Docu- 
ments.    1903. 
Stevens,  Johannine  Theology.     1894. 

Watkins,  Modern  Criticism  Considered  in  Its  Relation  to 
the  Fourth  Gospel.     1890. 

Watson,  The  Mysticism  of  St.  John's  Gospel.     1916. 

Weiss,  B.,  Der  Johanneische  Lehrbegriff.      1882. 

Weiss,  B.,  Meyer-Komm.     9th  ed.      1902. 

Wellhausen,  Das  Evangelium  Johannis.     1908. 

Wendt,  The  Gospel  According  to  St.  John  ;  An  Inquiry 
into  its  Genesis  and  Historical  Value.     1902. 

Wendt,  Die  Schichten  im  vierten  Evangelium.     191 1. 

Westcott,  Commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  2 
vols.     1908. 

Whitelaw,  The  Gospel  of  John.     1888. 

Worsley,  The  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Synoptists.     1909. 

Wrede,  Charakter  und  Tendenz  des  Johannesevangel- 
iums.     1903. 

Zahn,  Zahn  Komm.     1909. 


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